HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Jets Sign Chuma Edoga

June 27th, 2019 at 10:27am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have signed third-round pick Chuma Edoga, according to a team announcement. The offensive tackle will earn $3.4MM over the course of a four-year deal, in accordance with his slot. The deal also includes an $867K signing bonus. 

Edoga, one of the final draft picks to be made by Mike Maccagnan, protected quarterback Sam Darnold at USC. He started in 25 games for the Trojans, including 12 games as Darnold’s shield in 2017.

Edoga is remarkably athletic for a 308-pound lineman, but questions persist about his NFL potential. His core power is said to be substandard for the position and some teams red-flagged him for perceived maturity issues. In 2016, Edoga shoved an official to the ground and received a one-game suspension from the team.

With Edoga signed, the Jets have just one straggler remaining in No. 3 overall pick Quinnen Williams.

Release Candidate: Broncos DE DeMarcus Walker

June 27th, 2019 at 10:00am CST by Zachary Links

Two years ago, the Broncos used a second-round pick to select DeMarcus Walker out of Florida State. Today, the defensive end may be on Denver’s roster bubble.

[RELATED: Broncos TE Jake Butt Eyeing Training Camp Return]

Walker appeared in ten games for the Broncos as a rookie, but saw the field just three times in 2018. At one point, the Broncos tried to jumpstart his career by moving him to outside linebacker before shifting him back to defensive end, but, so far, nothing has worked.

Ordinarily, a team would stick things out with a young second-round pick like Walker, but Walker finds himself buried in a defensive line group that also includes Derek Wolfe, Adam Gotsis, Shelby Harris, Zach Kerr, and third-round pick Dre’Mont Jones. To make the 53-man cut, he’ll have to leapfrog at least one veteran while staving off the rest of the pack on the 90-man offseason roster.

If Walker doesn’t stick with the Broncos, you can expect him to immediately draw interest on the waiver wire. The 6’4″, 280-pound defender compiled 16 sacks as a senior at FSU and had the attention of several teams heading into the ’17 draft. In fact, before selecting Walker at No. 51 overall, the Broncos pondered a trade up to land him.

This Date In Transactions History: Vikings Sign Brock Lesnar

June 27th, 2019 at 9:00am CST by Zachary Links

Fifteen years ago today, Brock Lesnar stepped out of the squared circle and on to the gridiron. The WWE superstar hadn’t played organized football since high school, but his athletic ability made the Vikings curious enough to give the muscle-bound homegrown talent an opportunity to compete in training camp as a defensive tackle.

On the surface, this seemed to be a publicity ploy for the former WWE champion, but there was reason to believe that Lesnar could defy the odds and embark on a legitimate professional sports career. Before Lesnar beat the likes of The Rock and The Undertaker, he was an amateur wrestling phenom at the University of Minnesota, where he captured the 2000 NCAA Division I heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestling championship.

At 6’2″ and 285 pounds, Lesnar’s drill times and marks were downright impressive. With a reported 4.7-second 40-yard-dash time, 35-inch vertical leap, and 30 reps on the 225-pound bench press, Lesnar would have bested many DTs at the 2004 combine. For reference, No. 14 overall pick Tommie Harris ran a 4.78-second 40-yard-dash and posted 29 reps on the bench press before the Bears made him the first DT drafted in April.

Despite never playing football in college, Lesnar was still only 26 years old at the time and had real potential as a raw prospect. Still, there was one big problem – an April motorcycle accident left Lesnar with a busted jaw, a broken left hand, a bruised pelvis, and a pulled groin. Playing at less than 100% health, Lesnar’s unlikely mission became even more improbable.

After Lesnar missed the Vikings’ cut in late August, the Vikings offered him a spot on their NFL Europe affiliate team. Citing a desire to stay close to his family in the U.S., Lesnar left football, transitioned to MMA, and went on to become the heavyweight champion of the UFC.

Lesnar’s NFL career was short-lived, but his presence in camp was appreciated by Randy Moss, Nate Burleson, and other members of the Vikings’ locker room who grew up as wrasslin’ fans. Lesnar also got to put his WWE skills to good use while with the Vikes. When a Chiefs defender roughed up Daunte Culpepper during a summer scrimmage, Lesnar grabbed him by the waist, suplexed him high in the air, and slammed him on the turf. At least, that’s how Burleson remembers it.

 

Tyreek Hill Expected To Attend Training Camp

June 26th, 2019 at 9:45pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Fresh off Wednesday’s meeting with the NFL, Tyreek Hill is expected to attend training camp next month barring an “significant development” in the ongoing investigation surrounding child abuse allegations levied at the Chiefs wide receiver, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Hill sat down with NFL Special Counsel for Investigations Lisa Friel today in a meeting that lasted eight hours, reports Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. The NFL is investigating child abuse accusations against Hill after the pass-catcher’s three-year-old son suffered a broken arm. Authorities have determined that neither Hill nor his fiance broke the boy’s arm, but there’s been some dispute as to whether a legal investigation is still ongoing.

In addition to being accused of physical abuse, Hill was also caught on audio threatening his fiance, indicating that she should be “terrified” of him. Even if Hill isn’t formally charged with a crime as a result of this episode, the NFL can still levy its own punishment under the league’s personal conduct policy.

The NFL has no timetable for the conclusion of its investigation, per Rapoport. Chiefs training camp opens on July 26.

Extra Points: Ravens, WRs, Colts, Banogu, Giants

June 26th, 2019 at 9:07pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Ravens could potentially trade for a wide receiver before the start of the regular season, but there aren’t exactly a bevy of top-end pass-catchers on the trade block, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic writes. Baltimore used its first- and third-round picks on wideouts Marquise Brown and Miles Boykin, respectively, adding them to a depth chart that already includes Willie Snead, Seth Roberts, Michael Floyd, and others. Given that the Ravens parted ways with both Michael Crabtree and John Brown earlier this offseason, they could be looking for extra depth, but it seems unlikely they’ll be able to land a true No. 1 wide receiver via trade.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • The Colts are moving second-round pick Ben Banogu to defensive end, according to Kevin Bowen of 1010 The Fan. Banogu played defensive end at TCU, but as Bowen writes, Banogu spent his collegiate career as a stand-up edge rusher, whereas he’ll be in a three-point stance in Indianapolis. “Can he do different things and put him in different spots?” said defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. “No question he can do that. But let’s get his feet on solid ground at one spot and then kind of develop him from there.” Justin Houston and Jabaal Sheard are locked in as the Colts’ starting defensive ends, so Banogu will compete with 2018 second-rounder Kemoko Turay for reserve playing time.
  • The Giants‘ offensive lines in 2016 and 2017 were billed as among the NFL’s worst, but as Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com points out, many members of those front fives still have jobs around the league, and some are penciled in as starters. Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg are on expensive deals in Arizona and San Francisco, respectively, while Ereck Flowers is projected as a starting guard for Washington. Bobby Hart is the Bengals’ top right tackle, while guard John Jerry — who was out of the NFL in 2018 — could now start for Cincinnati following a season-ending injury to rookie tackle Jonah Williams.
  • In case you missed it, the Ravens today worked out former Bengals linebacker Vincent Rey.

PFR Glossary: Physically Unable To Perform List

June 26th, 2019 at 7:43pm CST by Dallas Robinson

When training camp rolls around next month, you might start hearing about players being placed on the PUP list. While the PUP list (sadly) isn’t a collection of which players are bringing their favorite canines to practice, it does have an important meaning for the NFL season.

PUP stands for physically unable to perform, and the PUP list is similar in fashion to injured reserve. It denotes which players aren’t healthy enough to practice during training camp. But there is one important distinction regarding PUP that can often get confusing.

Players who can’t start training camp due to an injury are initially placed on Active/PUP. This is a minor designation, and one that we at PFR typically won’t even cover. A player on Active/PUP isn’t able to practice until he’s medically cleared. Once he gains that clearance, he’s free to hit the practice field and is removed from the PUP list.

If a player begins training camp on Active/PUP and never gets healthy enough to practice throughout camp and into the preseason, he’s likely to be placed on Reserve/PUP. This is the more common PUP designation, and one that we will cover. Being placed on Reserve/PUP forces a player to miss the first six weeks of the regular season, so it’s a fairly serious option. After those six weeks are up, the team has a three-week window in which in must either activate the player, place him on injured reserve, or release him.

A few things to remember:

  • A player can’t practice and then be placed on a PUP list. If Patrick Mahomes takes part in only a single day of training camp before suffering an injury that will knock him out for the first six weeks of the regular season, the Chiefs wouldn’t be allowed to move him to PUP.
  • Similarly, if a player is on Active/PUP, gets healthy enough to practice, and then gets hurt again during camp, his team is out of luck. He won’t be able to go back on the Active/PUP list or be placed on the Reserve/PUP list.
  • Any player on either PUP list does not count toward his team’s 53-man roster.

In short, you typically don’t need to fret if your favorite player is placed on Active/PUP. The majority of players on Active/PUP are there for precautionary reasons and will soon be allowed to participate in practice sessions. But if that player sticks on Active/PUP throughout the preseason and is then shifted to Reserve/PUP, buckle in for a minimum absence of six weeks.

Note: This is a PFR Glossary entry. Our glossary posts explain specific rules relating to free agency, trades, or other aspects of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

2019 NFL Free Agents

June 26th, 2019 at 6:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Pro Football Rumors’ up-to-date list of 2019 NFL free agents is below. These are players who are eligible for restricted or unrestricted free agency after the 2018 season. The player’s 2019 age is in parentheses. Players are generally sorted by the position at which they played most in ’18, or the position at which their most recent team listed them.

Players who are currently on an NFL roster but don’t have a contract for 2019 are listed below, along with a few other notable free agents who aren’t on a roster at the moment.

Players eligible for restricted free agency are marked with (R), while franchise and transition players will be marked with (F) and (T) respectively. Exclusive rights free agents are not included. All other free agents are assumed to be unrestricted.

If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us. For instant free agent updates, be sure to follow us on Twitter @pfrumors.

Updated 8-28-19 (1:03pm CT)

Quarterbacks

Matt Cassel (37)
Connor Cook (26)
David Fales (28)
Landry Jones (30)
Brock Osweiler (28)
Brandon Weeden (35)

Running Backs

Jay Ajayi (26)
Kapri Bibbs (26)
LeGarrette Blount (32)
Alex Collins (25)
Benny Cunningham (29)
D’Onta Foreman (23)
Jeremy Hill (26)
Chris Ivory (31)
Rob Kelley (27)
Daniel Lasco (26)
Stevan Ridley (30)
Robert Turbin (29)
Fozzy Whittaker (30)
Shaun Wilson (23)
Zach Zenner (28)

Fullbacks

Derrick Coleman (28)
Jalston Fowler (29)
Tre Madden (26)

Wide Receivers

Kelvin Benjamin (28)
Dez Bryant (30)
Martavis Bryant (27)
Leonte Carroo (25)
Sammie Coates (26)
Bruce Ellington (28)
Pierre Garcon (33)
Rashad Greene (26)
Maurice Harris (26)
Darrius Heyward-Bey (32)
Andre Holmes (31)
Justin Hunter (28)
Brandon LaFell (31)
Roger Lewis (25)
Ricardo Louis (25)
Brandon Marshall (35)
Rod Streater (31)
Mike Wallace (33)
Kevin White (27)
Nick Williams (28)
Terrance Williams (30)
Read more

How The Cardinals Have Used Their No. 1 Waiver Priority

June 26th, 2019 at 5:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Since late December, when the Cardinals took over the top spot on the NFL’s waiver priority list due to their league-worst record, Arizona has had its pick of the NFL’s freely available talent. In that time, general manager Steve Keim has acquired five players via the waiver wire, many of whom have significant NFL experience.

Let’s take a look at the players the Cardinals have picked up on waivers over the past seven months and examine how each might contribute in 2019:

Pharoh Cooper, WR: Claimed from Rams on 12/19/18

The Cardinals may have gained some valuable intel from Cooper after claiming him in advance of their Week 16 matchup against the Rams, but Arizona also likely had Cooper’s potential 209 contributions in mind. A fourth-round pick out of South Carolina in 2016, Cooper earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2017 as a return man. That season, the 24-year-old handled 66 combined kick and punt returns, and led the NFL in yards per kickoff return (27.4). The Cardinals now have a bevy of wide receivers on their depth chart after adding draft picks Andy Isabella and Hakeem Butler to holdovers Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk, so Cooper is unlikely to see the field as an offensive player. But he’ll compete to become Arizona’s top return man, a role that he should be able to win.

D.J. Swearinger, S: Claimed from Redskins on 12/25/18

Sometimes you can go home again. The Cardinals brought in Swearinger — who previously played in Arizona from 2015-16 — via a Christmas Day waiver claim after the veteran defensive back was cut by the Redskins for criticizing Washington’s coaching staff and play-calling decisions. Still just 27 years old and due less than $4.5MM in 2019, Swearinger was unsurprisingly a popular name on the waiver wire, as both the Raiders and Packers attempted to claim him. Viewed as one of the more physically imposing defensive backs in the league, Swearinger graded out as the NFL’s No. 13 safety a year ago, per Pro Football Focus. He’ll start alongside Budda Baker in a now Patrick Peterson-less (at least, for six games) Arizona secondary.

Tanner Vallejo, LB: Claimed from Browns on 2/5/19

Like Cooper, Vallejo is likely ticketed for a special teams-only role in 2019. Over the past two seasons with the Bills and Browns, Vallejo played only 158 total defensive snaps but appeared on more than 500 special teams snaps. In both campaigns, he finished top-three on his club in special teams plays. The Cardinals were actually relatively successful on special teams last year, ranking as a top-12 unit in both kickoffs and punts, but Vallejo will give the club more depth. Speaking of depth, Arizona doesn’t have a ton of serviceable options behind projected starting ‘backers Haason Reddick and Jordan Hicks, so a scenario exists where Vallejo sees meaningful playing time on defense.

Pita Taumoepenu, LB: Claimed from 49ers on 5/9/19

A sixth-round pick in the 2017 draft, Taumoepenu has only played in six games (21 defensive snaps, 69 special teams snaps) over two seasons. Now 25 years old, Taumoepenu will have to compete for time on special teams, as he’s unlikely to see the field as a pass-rusher behind Terrell Suggs and Brooks Reed.

Desmond Harrison, T: Claimed from Browns on 6/6/19

The Browns cut Harrison earlier this month after he reportedly missed team meetings, but the Cardinals were willing to take a chance on his talent. Harrison joined Cleveland as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and subsequently started eight games, and while his overall marks from PFF weren’t stellar, he ranked 32nd among tackles in pure pass-blocking grade (min. 50% snap percentage). He was hurt by his run-blocking limitations and his 11 penalties, the latter of which ranked ninth-most among tackles. Harrison will open the season behind starting Arizona tackles D.J. Humphries and Marcus Gilbert, but given that those two have only played a combined 26 games (out of a possible 64) over the past two seasons, Harrison stands a decent chance to make it onto the field.

Falcons Waive Jeremy Langford From IR

June 26th, 2019 at 4:55pm CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons waived Jeremy Langford from injured reserve, according to a team announcement. The running back has been on the team’s IR since clearing waivers in May. 

[RELATED: What Will It Take For The Falcons To Lock Up Julio Jones?]

Langford initially looked promising after entering the league as a fourth round pick of the Bears back in 2015. He opened the 2016 season as Chicago’s starting running back, but he’s struggled with injuries and turned into a journeyman ever since. Drafted only a few years ago, the Falcons were already the fifth stop of his career.

Langford only appeared in one game for the Falcons last year, rushing nine times for 25 yards. He also has spent time with the Ravens, Jets and Dolphins.

Now, Langford is free to sign with any NFL team.

Ravens Work Out Vincent Rey

June 26th, 2019 at 3:17pm CST by Zachary Links

Linebacker Vincent Rey worked out for the Ravens on Tuesday, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Rey has been a core special teamer for the rival Bengals for years, but he could jump ship in 2019. 

[RELATED: Latest On Ravens’ LB Plans]

To date, Rey has spent his entire nine-year career with the Bengals. He’s appeared in all but two games over the last eight seasons, making 50 total starts. Rey’s usage dropped like a stone last year, however – he started in just two contests after running with the first-teamers for eleven games in 2018.

The Ravens are plenty familiar with what Rey can do when given a chance. In a 2013 meeting between the Ravens and Bengals, the linebacker sacked Joe Flacco three times.

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