2019 August - Pro Football Rumors

Jermon Bushrod To Retire

August 29th, 2019 at 11:48am CST by Zachary Links

Jermon Bushrod is retiring, according to Jane Slater of NFL.com (on Twitter). The offensive lineman will sign a one-day contract with the Saints and make a formal announcement on Thursday during the Saints’ final preseason game.

Bushrod, the Saints’ starting left tackle in Super Bowl XLIV, met with the Panthers back in March, but his plans have changed for one reason or another. Prior to his retirement, Bushrod was one of less than 20 players from the 2007 draft to still be active in the NFL.

After starting his career with the Saints, Bushrod spent time with the Bears and Dolphins before returning to New Orleans in 2018. He made six starts and 11 total appearances last season, filling in at left tackle for the injured Terron Armstead. Pro Football Focus assigned Bushrod sub-par grades, ranking him as the league’s No. 59 tackle among 80 qualifiers.

Ravens Trade OG Jermaine Eluemunor To Patriots

August 29th, 2019 at 11:41am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Patriots aren’t done trading for offensive linemen. About an hour after acquiring Korey Cunningham from the Cardinals, the Pats went out and got another body up front.

New England has reached a deal with Baltimore to trade for guard Jermaine Eluemunor, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com (Twitter link). In the deal, the Ravens will send Eluemunor and a sixth-round pick to the Pats a fourth-round pick, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter hears.

Hensley writes that Eluemunor was originally the favorite to start at left guard for the Ravens, but he “fell out of favor” after failing a conditioning test earlier this offseason. He also had several nagging injuries that kept him off the practice field.

Terms of the deal weren’t immediately disclosed, and the Ravens later tweeted out they were receiving an “undisclosed draft pick.” The Patriots needed some offensive line depth, so these moves make some sense. After it was revealed that David Andrews might miss the entire season with a blood clot, Ted Karras became the starting center. Karras was also a reserve guard, and the Pats’ interior line became pretty thin with him getting bumped up to a starting role.

Eluemunor was drafted by the Ravens in the fifth-round back in 2017. He started two games as a rookie and one last year. The Texas A&M product isn’t a lock to make New England’s roster, especially if the pick they gave up for him turns out to be conditional.

Colts Interested In QBs Brandon Weeden, Matt Cassel

August 29th, 2019 at 8:41am CST by Zachary Links

The Colts are leaving no stone unturned in their pursuit of quarterback help. In addition to Brock Osweiler, the Colts also met with and worked out Matt Cassel and Brandon Weeden, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears.

At this time, the Colts are still unsure about which QB they’ll sign. It’s also possible that Indy will wait to see how cuts shake out over Labor Day Weekend – there could be several experienced signal callers available from which to choose.

The Colts’ QB room, of course, was shaken up when Andrew Luck abruptly announced his retirement from the NFL. That left Jacoby Brissett, a solid QB in his own right, as the club’s new starter. For now, Chad Kelly stands as the team’s QB2, though his two-game suspension will require another passer to step in, at least as a stopgap solution.

Cassel, 37, spent last season as Matthew Stafford‘s backup in Detroit. He threw a grand total of 17 passes in 2018 and has made just two starts in the last three years.

Weeden, who will turn 36 in October, has split time with the Cowboys and Texans in recent years, though he did not take the field in 2016 or 2017. The former first-round pick has a career 6-19 record with most of those appearances coming with the Browns in his rookie season.

Redskins: Trent Williams Won’t Be Traded

August 29th, 2019 at 8:34am CST by Zachary Links

The Redskins won’t part ways with Trent Williams. At least, that’s what GM Bruce Allen continues to say.

“It’ll be with us,” Allen said when asked where he believes Williams will play in 2019 (Twitter link via NBC 4 Sports).

Williams is reportedly ready to play, though not willing to play for the Redskins. Given his Pro Bowl resume and the dearth of tackles league-wide, nearly every team in the league would have at least some interest in adding the disgruntled veteran to the roster. Still, the Redskins remain dug in.

“I think Trent’s going to play football, yes,” Allen said. “We had a surprising retirement this week in the NFL and I don’t see Trent retiring.”

On a related note – the Redskins’ refusal to part with Williams may keep them out of the Jadeveon Clowney sweepstakes.

Texans Discussing Jadeveon Clowney Trade With Five Teams

August 29th, 2019 at 8:21am CST by Zachary Links

Trade talks involving Texans pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney are rapidly heating up. The Texans have spoken with at least five teams about the former No. 1 overall pick so far: the Jets and Redskins are in communications with Houston brass, in addition to the previously reported talks with the Seahawks, Eagles, and Dolphins.

The Dolphins believe they are the favorites to land Clowney, and that makes sense given that GM Chris Grier and head coach Brian Flores have met with him in recent weeks. At the same time, Clowney is said to prefer the Seahawks and Eagles. Of course, Clowney is not a free agent, but he effectively holds the cards – he has yet to sign his franchise tender and is reportedly willing to miss regular season games until he gets his way.

The Redskins would also make some sense as an interested party, but they’re not in the mix for him at this time, per Wilson. They remain unwilling to trade Trent Williams, and that’s a big barrier when considering the Texans’ need for offensive line help.

The Clowney/Texans beef started sizzling again this week, sometime around when Clowney fired former agent Bus Cook. On that front, Wilson hears that Clowney is willing to represent himself, at least for now.

Raiders Notes: Jackson, Ellis, Liuget, Brown

August 28th, 2019 at 9:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Raiders don’t seem sure on what to do with guard Gabe Jackson and defensive lineman Justin Ellis, both of whom are nursing knee injuries, as Jerry McDonald of the Mercury News writes. Jackson suffered a knee sprain in early August and is expected to miss at least four regular season games, while Ellis wouldn’t be able to play in Thursday’s preseason game even if he was needed. While Oakland could keep both Jackson and Ellis on their 53-man roster, that would mean retaining two players who won’t be of much use when the season gets underway. Alternatively, both men could be placed on injured reserve, but they’d have to first be carried on the Raiders’ initial 53-man roster.

Here’s more on the Black and Silver:

Veteran defensive tackle Corey Liuget received a fully guaranteed one-year, $1MM deal from the Raiders, tweets Adam Caplan of SiriusXM NFL Radio. The pact includes a $930K base salary and a $70K signing bonus. The 2018 season couldn’t have gone much worse for Liuget, as a suspension, pay cut, and season-ending knee injury littered what became a lost campaign. Cut by the Chargers in February, Liguet since met with the Giants, Seahawks, Jaguars, and Cardinals before landing in Oakland. Always a solid run defender, Liuget could also give the Raiders an interior pass-rush boost.
If the Raiders wanted to void Antonio Brown‘s contractual guarantees as a result of his helmet fiasco, they’d probably have a good case, as Joel Corry of CBSSports.com writes. Brown’s contact with the Raiders contains more than $30MM in guaranteed money, so voiding that cash would certainly give Oakland more long-term options. The star wide receiver lost his second helmet-based grievance earlier this week and appears ready to play, so this issue won’t rear its head just yet.
Head coach Jon Gruden says the Raiders have engaged in trade talks with rival NFL clubs as the regular season approaches, per Vic Tafur of The Athletic (Twitter link). While it’s unclear what position group Oakland may want to trade from, Tafur today identified tight end as the deepest spot on the Raiders’ roster.
Speaking of that tight end position, Derek Carrier has the edge over Luke Willson for the Raiders’ third TE slot, per Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area. Darren Waller and rookie Foster Moreau are expected to serve as Oakland’s top two tight ends.

Biggest Roster Weakness: NFC South

August 28th, 2019 at 9:14pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The 2019 regular season is right around the corner, but every NFL team still has at least one position on its roster that could use improvement. And there’s still plenty of time to address those areas of need! Free agents are readily available on the open market, while preseason trades provide another avenue of player procurement. 19 NFL trades were executed between August 1st and September 1st of 2018, and that number could increase this year.

Let’s take a look at the weakest positional group — and a potential solution — for each NFL club. Today we’ll examine the NFC South:

Atlanta Falcons

Weakness: Defensive tackle depth. When healthy, the Falcons boast one of the more complete rosters in the NFL, so finding a true weak area was admittedly difficult. But defensive tackle is a roster spot where Atlanta could potentially use a few more bodies behind star Grady Jarrett. At present, former Saint Tyeler Davison is projected to start next to Jarrett, while Jack Crawford, Deadrin Senat, and reclamation project Ra’Shede Hageman will also see time.
Solution: Sign Mike Pennel. Surprisingly released by the Patriots earlier this week, Pennel is a 6’4″, 330-pound mammoth who would give the Falcons size on the interior. Now 28 years old, Pennel spent the past two seasons with the Jets as a rotational defensive tackle, and last year graded as the NFL’s No. 15 interior defender, per Pro Football Focus, which lauded Pennel’s strength in run defense. Pennel will almost surely land a new contract before the regular season begins, so Atlanta should act quickly.

Carolina Panthers

Weakness: Backup quarterback. Panthers head coach Ron Rivera expects Cam Newton to be ready for Week 1 after the veteran quarterback suffered a foot injury during the preseason, but Newton has now already broken the injury seal. Newton, of course, struggled with a shoulder issue in 2018 and was deactivated for the season’s final two games, allowing backups Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen to start one contest each. Heinicke and Allen are both still on the Carolina roster, as is third-round pick Will Grier, but the Panthers could use a more proven commodity behind Newton.
Solution: Trade for C.J. Beathard. While 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has said he’s keeping three quarterbacks — Jimmy Garoppolo, Nick Mullens, and Beathard — on San Francisco’s roster, that’s likely a ploy to get another club to sacrifice a draft pick in exchange for either Mullens or Beathard. Mullens could be expensive to acquire given his performance in 2018, but Beathard should come cheaper given his relatively lackluster results last season. He’d come with two years of club control at cheap rates, with base salaries totaling less than $2MM through 2020.

New Orleans Saints

Weakness: Offensive tackle depth. The Saints have one of the league’s best offensive lines, ranking top-three in both adjusted line yards and adjusted sack rate in 2018, per Football Outsiders. But left tackle Terron Armstead had been riddled with injury questions throughout his career — he’s never played a full 16-game slate, and he’s missed 23 contests over the past three years. Journeyman Michael Ola is currently New Orleans’ top reserve at both left and right tackle.
Solution: Sign Jermey Parnell. New Orleans attempted to address their offensive tackle issue earlier this month by signing veteran Chris Clark, but the nine-year veteran is done for the season after suffering a leg injury. While he’s entering his age-33 campaign, Parnell is still a solid blocker, especially in the run game. He’s probably limited to right tackle, but given that Ryan Ramczyk can play both sides, Parnell could make sense for the Saints.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Weakness: Running back. The Buccaneers’ running game has been a disaster in each of the past two seasons, and while supplementing their offensive line is also an option, there are far more running backs available at this point in the NFL calendar than there are offensive linemen. Peyton Barber returns as Tampa Bay’s lead back after ranking bottom-seven in efficiency last year, while 2018 second-rounder Ronald Jones and Dare Ogunbowale also figure to have roles.
Solution: Trade for Rex Burkhead. Burkhead is an effective running back, but he’s behind Sony Michel, James White, Damien Harris, and maybe even fullback James Develin for carries in New England. A versatile player who can succeed on the ground and in the passing game, Burkhead would give the Buccaneers’ another option in their backfield. At the very least, he could be a third-down back and special teams maven for Tampa Bay.

Ravens, FB/DL Patrick Ricard Open Extension Talks

August 28th, 2019 at 8:07pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Ravens have opened extension talks with fullback/defensive lineman Patrick Ricard, according to Nick Underhill of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Ricard, 25, entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Maine in 2017. A full-time defensive lineman at the collegiate level, Ricard has played both defensive line and fullback with Baltimore. During his rookie campaign, Ricard played 149 snaps on offense and just 38 on defense while catching four passes for 12 yards and two touchdowns. In 2018, however, his playing time was reduced even further, as he saw only 94 snaps on offense and 47 on defense.

Because Ricard was undrafted, he can be extended after two NFL seasons, whereas drafted players must wait until their third pro year is complete before working out a new deal. Ricard will be a restricted free agent in 2020, so by agreeing to an extension, he could potentially sacrifice some contractual upside for the financial security of a long-term pact.

Jadeveon Clowney Willing To Miss Regular Season Games

August 28th, 2019 at 7:15pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It doesn’t seem like there’s an end in sight to the Jadeveon Clowney saga. The Texans have been looking to trade the former first overall pick, but he holds some leverage in trade negotiations because he needs to sign his franchise tender before he can be moved. Clowney was originally slated to report to the Texans after Week 3 of the preseason, but we heard earlier today Clowney changed his mind once he found out Houston was looking to deal him.

Clowney has been telling people he’s willing to drag his holdout into the regular season, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, who has spoken to multiple sources around the star outside linebacker (Twitter link). In a follow-up tweet, Garafolo’s NFL Network colleague Ian Rapoport writes that he’s heard the same.

As Garafolo points out, he has no financial incentive to sit out games. The deadline has passed for franchise-tagged players to get extensions from their current teams, so he won’t be getting any more money from the Texans in 2019. In fact, he’ll be forfeiting about $1MM for each game he misses since he’s slated to earn $15.967MM under the tag in 2019.

Garafolo reports that Clowney is genuinely hurt by the Texans’ desire to trade him, and that they allowed him to meet with the Dolphins. Houston is clearly planning for life without Clowney, giving his backup Brennan Scarlett an extension earlier today. We’ll keep you updated as we hear more, but as of right now it looks like there’s a very good chance he isn’t on anyone’s active roster come Week 1.

Packers Trade Reggie Gilbert To Titans

August 28th, 2019 at 6:28pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ve got another minor trade for you. This time, it’s the Packers sending outside linebacker Reggie Gilbert to the Titans in exchange for a seventh-round pick, sources told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Gilbert entered the league as an undrafted free agent back in 2016, and he’s been in Green Bay ever since. Gilbert spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad, and then managed to get on the active roster for a bit in 2017. He was finally able to carve out a real role last season, when he appeared in all 16 games.

Playing in a rotational role, Gilbert racked up 38 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two passes defended. All told he ended up playing over 45 percent of the defensive snaps, so he was more than just a bit contributor. The Arizona product will be a free agent after the season. The Titans could use some pass-rushing depth, so their interest makes some sense.

It’s not a coincidence that all these minor trades are starting to take place. It’s a way for teams to circumvent the waiver process and add depth before roster cutdowns by giving up late-round picks. These type of moves will continue to happen more and more as we get closer to cutdown day.