2019 April - Pro Football Rumors

Lions To Sign C.J. Anderson

April 1st, 2019 at 5:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

C.J. Anderson‘s late-season success produced another contract offer. The former Pro Bowl running back agreed to terms Monday on a one-year deal with the Lions, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

This will mark the veteran running back’s fifth team in the past 12 months. But Anderson has left his mark with multiple franchises during a six-year career and will have a chance to contribute in Detroit.

Prior to Anderson catching on with the Rams in what turned out to be a pivotal agreement, he worked out for the Lions last November. The 27-year-old back will now have a chance to play alongside Kerryon Johnson. LeGarrette Blount‘s contract expired after last season. The Lions now have a new power-based back in place to fill that role, one coming off a borderline-dominant stretch.

In his first game subbing in for Todd Gurley, Anderson gained 167 rushing yards and scored a touchdown. He followed up his Week 16 performance with another 100-yard game, averaging 7.0 yards per carry as a regular-season Ram. The former Broncos Pro Bowler then teamed with Gurley to bulldoze the Cowboys, with the Rams newcomer gaining 123 yards and scoring twice in Los Angeles’ divisional-round win.

This helped re-establish the running back after both the Panthers and Raiders released him during the season. Prior to his successful Rams stint, Anderson was seldom used as a Panther, receiving just 24 carries last season. He totaled 43 in his two regular-season Rams games.

The Lions were clearly interested in bringing a piece of the Rams’ running game to the Motor City. They submitted an offer sheet to Malcolm Brown, but the Rams matched it. Detroit re-signed Zach Zenner and has Kerwynn Williams on its roster, but Anderson almost certainly stands to have a key role.

As a Bronco, Anderson made the 2014 Pro Bowl after breaking out down the stretch that season. In 2015, he was a vital part of a Super Bowl champion outfit, helping a Denver team that had seen Peyton Manning decline suddenly. Anderson finished the season with 100 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown in Super Bowl 50. In 2017, he rushed for a career-high 1,007 yards. The Broncos released Anderson in April 2018 pivoted to younger backs.

Daryl Worley Signs Raiders RFA Tender

April 1st, 2019 at 5:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Daryl Worley will be back in Oakland for the 2019 season. The veteran cornerback signed his RFA tender on Monday, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.

The Raiders placed a second-round tender on Worley earlier this offseason. Barring an extension, Worley will make $3.095MM this season.

A Raider signing during a turbulent 2018 offseason, Worley played 505 snaps in 10 games last year. The Raiders clearly saw something Pro Football Focus did not in the former Panthers third-round pick; PFF graded Worley as the league’s seventh-worst full-time corner last season.

Worley’s 2018 season began four games late because of a suspension in connection to his offseason arrest and ended early due to a torn shoulder labrum. The 24-year-old defender has since undergone surgery. He is expected to remain the starter opposite Gareon Conley, Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area notes.

Worley joins Conley and Karl Joseph as secondary holdovers. The Raiders have added both Lamarcus Joyner and Nevin Lawson this offseason, with former Giants safety Curtis Riley also signing. The Silver and Black begin their offseason program April 15.

Duke Johnson Requests Trade From Browns

April 1st, 2019 at 4:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

It appears the Browns and Duke Johnson will part ways in the near future. Already believed to be on the trade block, Duke Johnson has submitted a request to be moved, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports.

Since the Browns signed Kareem Hunt, the Jets, Texans and Eagles have been interested in Johnson, Cabot adds. Johnson did not show for the first day of the Browns’ offseason program.

When the Browns brought in Hunt, John Dorsey initially said Johnson was not yet a candidate to be moved. Hunt since incurred an eight-game suspension, making backfield depth paramount. But the Browns have been ruthless in moving on from talent acquired under previous regimes. Kevin Zeitler, Jabrill Peppers, Derrick Kindred and Emmanuel Ogbah have been the latest to go. Johnson, a third-round pick during the Ray Farmer regime, has been Cleveland’s passing-down back for four seasons.

Dorsey said recently he has not spoken to Johnson, but Cabot makes it clear the running back’s representatives have spoken to other Browns execs with the intention of being traded.

First-year HC Freddie Kitchens said Johnson would have a role alongside Nick Chubb, even after Hunt returns. But as Cabot points out, Odell Beckham Jr.’s arrival will likely push Jarvis Landry inside more often, decreasing the opportunities for Johnson to work in the slot. His lack of touches last season was already a point of contention, per Cabot.

“I don’t know why it’s assumed that we’re going to trade Duke Johnson,” Kitchens said. “I don’t know why we would ever want to, like, just voluntarily give up a good football player. Duke Johnson is a good football player. Duke Johnson will have a role on our football team. All these guys that are here will have a role. I don’t know when it just became a necessity to trade Duke Johnson because we signed Kareem Hunt.”

The 25-year-old back is signed to a team-friendly three-year, $15.6MM contract. He is signed through 2021. Despite playing in 16 games, Johnson saw his scrimmage-yards total plummet from 1,041 in 2017 to 630 last season. His touches dropped from 156 in 2017 to 87 last year. The former Miami Hurricane still leads all running backs in receiving yardage (2,170) since entering the league (h/t ESPN’s Field Yates, on Twitter).

In signing Le’Veon Bell, the Jets already paid a premium for a pass-catching back. The Eagles just traded for Jordan Howard, but he has not been a prolific receiver. And Darren Sproles may or may not be retiring. The Texans just lost Alfred Blue to the Jaguars and were without D’Onta Foreman for much of last season.

Cardinals Host CBs Morris Claiborne, Tramaine Brock

April 1st, 2019 at 4:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cardinals entered another offseason continuing their search for a reliable complementary cornerback to Patrick Peterson. They signed Robert Alford. But the team may still want to add pieces to its secondary.

Both Morris Claiborne and Tramaine Brock are in Arizona visiting the Cards on Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Each saw a one-year contract recently expire.

Claiborne spent the past two seasons with the Jets and has played on one-year deals for the past three seasons, having signed his first with the Cowboys in 2016. The Jets deployed the former top-10 pick as a starter in each season but appear set to move on.

The Broncos turned to Brock to fill out their previous cornerback trio, which lost Aqib Talib last offseason, with Brock stepping in as Denver’s nickel performer. The Brock-Chris Harris–Bradley Roby trio obviously was a step down from when Talib was in that mix, and Denver was not expected to make an effort to re-sign Brock. No such effort was made, and the Broncos have added Kareem Jackson and Bryce Callahan this offseason.

Brock, who graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 98 corner last season, is entering what would be his age-31 campaign. Claiborne, 29, was one of a handful of corners to surpass 1,000 snaps last season, playing 1,002. The former No. 6 overall pick graded as PFF’s No. 75 cornerback.

In addition to Peterson and Alford, Arizona employs longtime starter David Amerson and Josh Shaw, the latter a free agency addition. Should the Cardinals add either Claiborne or Brock, they will have one of the NFL’s most experienced cornerback contingents.

Browns Trade Emmanuel Ogbah To Chiefs

April 1st, 2019 at 3:38pm CST by Zachary Links

Emmanuel Ogbah stayed away from the Browns’ voluntary workout on Monday with the expectation that he would be traded in the near future. As it turns out, the near future arrived in a matter of hours. The Browns have traded the defensive end to the Chiefs in exchange for safety Eric Murray, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

After a foot injury ended his 2017 season, Ogbah suffered an ankle malady early in 2018. The former second-round bounced back, however, and delivered three sacks in 14 games (all starts).Ogbah has 12.5 career sacks to his credit and will have an opportunity to make an impact in KC.

There was no room for Ogbah in Cleveland with Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon as the starting bookends and Chad Thomas, Chris Smith, and Anthony Zettel supporting the high-profile duo. He follows wide receiver Ricardo Louis and safety Derrick Kindred, other relics of the Sashi Brown era, out the door.

In the swap, the Chiefs and Browns each traded from a surplus to fill a weakness. The Browns were able to part with a DE after adding Vernon and the Chiefs have extra ammo at safety thanks to the addition of Tyrann Mathieu. Even without Eric Berry, the Chiefs were able to part with a supporting safety, enabling them to bolster a pass rush that no longer features Dee Ford or Justin Houston.

Murray, 25, made a career-high nine starts last season as he logged 55 tackles and two pass deflections. He graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 50 ranked safety in the NFL out of 93 eligible players, positioning him as a starting-caliber player.

Jaguars Sign RB Alfred Blue

April 1st, 2019 at 3:36pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars have signed running back Alfred Blue, per a team announcement. Blue is presently set to serve as a backup behind starter Leonard Fournette, though much can change between now and September.

Blue, 28 in April, saw his usage fluctuate over the course of five seasons with the rival Texans. After logging 183 carries and nine starts in his second NFL season, Blue was dialed back to more of a reserve role between 2016-2018. Last year, he got 150 carries, but averaged just 3.3 yards per try.

Blue, 27, did his best work in 2015 when he rushed for 698 yards in nine starts for Houston. The addition of Lamar Miller reduced his role, however, and he was decidedly less effective in 2017 and ’18.

He’ll be no higher than the No. 2 RB in Jacksonville, but an opportunity to start might not be far off given Fournette’s injury struggles.

Bears Re-Sign Aaron Lynch

April 1st, 2019 at 3:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears have re-signed Aaron Lynch, according to a team announcement. The outside linebacker will return on a new one-year deal.

Lynch met with the Seahawks, Raiders, and Colts this offseason, but he ultimately chose to return to the Bears for at least one more season. Lynch registered three sacks in Chicago last year, giving him 18 across five NFL seasons. However, 12.5 of those sacks came in his first two years in the league.

Lynch spent the first four seasons of his career with the 49ers and signed with the Bears last season to reunite with then-Chicago DC Vic Fangio. After playing on roughly 16% of the 49ers’ defensive snaps over his last two years in SF, Lynch saw an uptick in playing time last year, appearing in roughly one-third of the Bears’ defensive snaps.

Lynch can line up at DE or OLB, so he figures to split his time between those spots in 2019.

Steelers Release S Morgan Burnett

April 1st, 2019 at 1:08pm CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers released safety Morgan Burnett, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Burnett requested his release back in January, so he’s undoubtedly excited to have his freedom.

Pittsburgh signed Burnett to a three-year, $14.35MM contract early in the 2018 free agency period, well before most other safeties of his ilk agreed to deals. That probably worked to Burnett’s benefit as the safety market was a huge letdown for other veterans at the position.

However, things didn’t click for Burnett in Pittsburgh. The Steelers employed him mostly as a dime linebacker, but he was not comfortable with playing close to the line of scrimmage. Instead, Burnett will seek to join a team that will bring him back to a traditional safety role. The Browns, who just waived Derrick Kindred, could be a fit.

Burnett started just two of the eleven games he played with the Steelers. Before that, he started every game he played as a Packer. Burnett’s usage (390 snaps) lagged well behind younger Steeler safeties Sean Davis (981 snaps) and first-round pick Terrell Edmunds (968).

By cutting Burnett, the Steelers will save $3.63MM against the cap, but it comes with a substantial $2.8MM dead money hit.

Bucs’ McCoy Doesn’t Show For Workouts

April 1st, 2019 at 12:51pm CST by Zachary Links

Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy did not attend the first day of off-season workouts with the team on Monday, as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. These workouts are entirely voluntary, but this could be a sign that McCoy won’t be involved in the club’s plans moving forward.

Earlier this offseason, it was reported that the Buccaneers planned to keep McCoy in the fold. But, recent comments from new head coach Bruce Arians cast some doubt on that front.

“He’s not as disruptive as he was four years ago,” Arians said. “But he’s still pretty disruptive. He’s still a good player….I got to evaluate him. I mean, guys at a certain age, it’s different. Usually, the age they get paid the most and production (doesn’t) match. We’ve got to find that out.”

McCoy, 31, ranked fourth among defensive tackles with 21 quarterback hits in 2018 and finished as the NFL’s No. 28 interior defender, per Pro Football Focus. He’s signed through 2021, but Tampa Bay won’t incur any dead money if they cut him. Meanwhile, they’d save $13MM against the cap by shedding his contract.

McCoy still has something in the tank, but he might not be an ideal fit for the team given his salary and the club’s move to a 3-4 scheme.

Bengals To Meet With Jordan Mills

April 1st, 2019 at 10:59am CST by Zachary Links

Tackle Jordan Mills will meet with the Bengals on Monday and Tuesday, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Mills visited the Texans earlier this month, but outside of that, it has been a quiet offseason for the veteran.

Mills, 28, started in every possible game for the Bills over the last three seasons. However, the advanced metrics have never been fond of his work. In 2018, he ranked as the No. 70 tackle in the NFL out of 80 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Bengals’ depth chart at tackle is looking thin with Cordy Glenn, Bobby Hart, and Kent Perkins as the only outside blockers under contract. The club is also expected to fortify the position in the draft given Hart’s struggles at right tackle.