2019 April - Pro Football Rumors

Vikings Re-Sign C Brett Jones

April 1st, 2019 at 10:46am CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings have re-signed center Brett Jones, per a club announcement. It’s a one-year deal with a base salary of $850K that could be worth up to $1.5MM through incentives, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (on Twitter).

The Vikings acquired Jones late last summer via trade with the Giants. In his first season with the Vikes, Jones appeared in 14 games, including three starts at center. Prior to that, Jones appeared in 30 games (14 starts) across three seasons with the G-Men and won a Grey Cup title in 2014 with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders.

The Vikings offered Jones a contract earlier this month, but he did not immediately accept. Meanwhile, center Tyler Shatley circled back to the Jaguars after visiting with the Vikings and Jones, as far as we know, did not go on any other visits. It only made sense for the two sides to reunite as the Vikings needed a backup for Pat Elflein.

Jones started the first three games of the 2018 season while Elflein was injured. He’s likely eager to start somewhere, as he did with the Giants in 2017, but he’ll serve as Elflein’s understudy for at least one more year. Jones can also play guard, which may give him another path to getting on the field.

Jaguars To Meet With Alfred Blue

April 1st, 2019 at 10:01am CST by Zachary Links

The Jaguars are on the hunt for backup running backs. This week, the Jags will meet with Alfred Blue and Benny Cunningham, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links).

Injuries have opened up opportunities for Blue with the Texans, though he has dealt with maladies of his own. Last year, Blue had 150 carries playing mostly as a reserve, but he had just 499 yards, resulting in a 3.3 yards per carry average. In terms of efficiency, Blue enjoyed his best season in 2016 when he averaged 4.2 yards per tote. Blue has five career 100-yard performances, but his last one came in 2017 in a blowout loss to the Steelers.

Cunningham, meanwhile, had just eleven carries for 20 yards with the Bears in 2018, but he made his mark on special teams.

Browns To Waive S Derrick Kindred

April 1st, 2019 at 9:33am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns are expected to waive safety Derrick Kindred, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The move comes as something of a surprise since Kindred was, at one point, slated to start in Cleveland.

Kindred, 25, was set to make a little more than $2MM in 2019. By releasing him, the Browns will get all of that cap space back.

Since entering the league as a 2016 fourth-round pick, Kindred has appeared in 42 games for Cleveland. Last year, he had a perfect attendance record and registered 45 tackles, one interception, and a forced fumble.

The Browns’ new look secondary will no longer feature Jabrill Peppers, Briean Boddy-Calhoun, or Kindred. Damarious Randall remains, but the club has a gap to fill at strong safety.

The Browns’ spring cleaning seems to be targeted at holdovers from the Sashi Brown era. Wide receiver Ricardo Louis was sent packing on Monday morning and the club appears close to trading defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah.

Browns Likely To Trade Emmanuel Ogbah

April 1st, 2019 at 9:24am CST by Zachary Links

Emmanuel Ogbah did not report to the Browns offseason program today in anticipation of being traded in the near future, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The Browns have been shopping the defensive end and it sounds like a deal could be just around the corner.

After a foot injury ended his 2017 season, Ogbah suffered an ankle malady early in 2018. The former second-round pick shook that off, however, and delivered three sacks in 14 games (all starts).Ogbah has 12.5 career sacks and may be an option as a complementary pass rusher or depth piece elsewhere, though it will depend on what the Browns will deem an acceptable return.

There’s 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 appears set to follow wide receiver Ricardo Louis, another relic of the Sashi Brown era, out the door.

Browns To Waive WR Ricardo Louis

April 1st, 2019 at 9:19am CST by Zachary Links

The Browns have waived yet another relic of the Sashi Brown era. On Monday, the Browns released wide receiver Ricardo Louis, according to a source who spoke with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

The former fourth-round pick missed the entire 2018 campaign with a neck injury and his status going into 2019 is not entirely clear. In 2017, Louis enjoyed the best season of his young career with 27 catches for 357 yards, a step up from his 18 grabs for 205 yards as a rookie.

Louis’ rookie deal is inexpensive, so it’s possible that another team could pick him up off of waivers if he’s healthy. Louis’ contract, which has just one year to go, calls for just $720K in base salary. Meanwhile, the Browns are looking at $142K in dead money by releasing him.

In other Browns receiver news, new pickup Odell Beckham Jr. reported to the team on Monday. While Louis showed some flashes of potential, the Browns are expecting much larger results from OBJ, one of the league’s premier receivers.

Kenny Britt To Meet With Redskins

April 1st, 2019 at 9:11am CST by Zachary Links

Kenny Britt is set to meet with the Redskins on Monday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). This marks Britt’s first team visit of the offseason.

If Britt is healthy, he could be an interesting pickup for the Redskins or another team in need. He missed all of 2018 with a hamstring issue and his 2017 season was disastrous, but he’s not far removed from his 1,000-yard season with the Rams in 2016.

Britt exploded in his contract year with the Rams and inked a four-year, $32MM free agent deal with the Browns in 2017. Unfortunately, he clashed with management in Cleveland and was cut just nine games into the deal. Afterwards, Britt hooked on with the Pats, though he only appeared in a handful of games down the stretch.

Presently, the Redskins’ WR depth chart is headlined by Josh Doctson, Paul Richardson, and Trey Quinn.