Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
Green Bay Packers
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
Oakland Raiders
Although the sideline argument with Doug Marrone served as the most visible part of this Jalen Ramsey trade saga, the All-Pro cornerback said the Jaguars’ front office prompted him to seek a trade.
During an appearance on Uninterrupted’s “17 Weeks” podcast with Nate Burleson, Ramsey said he chalked up the issue with Marrone to heat-of-the-moment matters that can happen. But Ramsey indicated comments from Jacksonville front office brass in a recent meeting did not sit well with him.
“Some disrespectful things were said on their end that made me definitely walk out and call my agent as soon as I walked out,” Ramsey said during the podcast (h/t BigCatCountry.com). “I said, ‘It is time. My time is up here in Jacksonville. I want to ask for a trade.’
“… It was more about the front office and the organization. I called my agent after the game.”
He said the trade request had been “building over a little bit of time.” Over the summer, a report emerged indicating the Jags would not negotiate an extension with Ramsey this year. The two-time Pro Bowler indicated he would not give the team a hometown discount. Two seasons remain on the 2016 first-rounder’s contract. GM Dave Caldwell oversaw the decision to draft Ramsey at No. 5 overall in 2016. Jags executive VP Tom Coughlin was not yet with the franchise when that happened.
Ramsey is active for the Jaguars against the Titans tonight but expects to be traded before Week 4. Nearly the entire league has entered this pursuit, to some degree, with the Chiefs, Eagles, Seahawks, Vikings, Ravens and Raiders mentioned as the most interested suitors at this point. A trade could come as soon as Friday, and a deal may require a team to unload two first-round picks.
Tyreek Hill‘s three-year, $54MM Chiefs extension comes with a host of conditions that protect the team, and more Chiefs-friendly stipulations in the controversial wide receiver’s deal have come to light. The All-Pro talent received $22MM-plus in full guarantees, but this contract would allow the Chiefs to void those if any additional trouble comes Hill’s way, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. Were Hill to be suspended or placed on the commissioner’s exempt list at any point, his guarantees will void. Hill’s fully guaranteed figure ranks behind 11 wideouts’, including Sammy Watkins‘ $30MM.
The Chiefs have made this a year-to-year proposition, with Hill’s deal calling for league-minimum base salaries from 2019-21. The bulk of this deal’s money stands to come via bonuses. Hill has a $15.2MM roster bonus for the 2020 season, but JLC notes that money is not due until February 2021 — near the end of the 2020 league year. This would allow the team to avoid that bonus payment, should Hill encounter more off-field issues. The same structure is in place in 2021, with a $9.75MM roster bonus due in February 2022. The Chiefs hold an option for Hill’s 2022 season.
Hill pleaded guilty to striking his pregnant girlfriend, Crystal Espinal, while at Oklahoma State and fell to the fifth round as a result. The Chiefs were set to negotiate what would almost certainly have been a more player-friendly deal in March of this year, but Hill’s ensuing trouble (for which he was not suspended) sidetracked those plans and led to this complex contract.
Here is the latest out of Kansas City:
Richie Incognito‘s return from suspension led the Raiders to release Jonathan Cooper. The former top-10 pick is already generating interest.
The Panthers are hosting Cooper on a visit Thursday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The 29-year-old blocker is a Wilmington, N.C., native and is a former Tar Heel. Cooper, though, has made his way through several teams and has suited up for four franchises over the past four seasons.
Carolina has Trai Turner and Greg Van Roten installed as its guard starters and drafted Dennis Daley in the sixth round this year. However, reserve offensive lineman Brandon Greene has not practiced this week due to a neck injury, creating a potential need for depth up front.
Cooper played for the Cardinals, Browns, Cowboys and Redskins over the past four seasons. He was also with the Patriots and 49ers in this span. The 2013 draftee did not play for the Raiders this season, being a healthy scratch in each of Oakland’s first two games.
With another busy day of football news winding down, let’s take a look around the NFC:
The Dolphins have claimed Taco Charlton off of waivers, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com relays (Twitter link).
Charlton will be eligible to play for the Dolphins against the Cowboys on Sunday. Dallas released their former first-round pick earlier this week.
Charlton has been ineffective during his time in Dallas, though injuries have robbed him of a chance to get better. Dallas gets Robert Quinn, who played last season with the Dolphins, back from suspension this week, so the team had little room for Charlton in the defensive line rotation. He finished his Cowboys career with four sacks in 27 games.
Per ESPN’s Field Yates, the Dolphins were the only team to put a claim in on Charlton (Twitter link). Other clubs were deterred by the $3MM Charlton is owed over the next two seasons and his relative lack of production to date, but Miami, flush with cap space and in the midst of a rebuild, was willing to absorb the cost of this particular lottery ticket.
It’s been a tough week for veteran quarterbacks. The Eli Manning-era in New York came to an end earlier this week. Ben Roethlisberger may have played his last game for the yellow-and-gold after going down with an elbow injury and Drew Brees is out of the Saints’ lineup with a thumb injury. Now, another veteran quarterback is on the outs, as the Ryan Fitzpatrick era in Miami appears to be over.
Josh Rosen will make his first start for the Dolphins against the Cowboys on Sunday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (Twitter link). Rapoport hears that coach Brian Flores made the decision this afternoon.
Rosen, who Miami gave up a second-rounder for, started 13 games for the Cardinals as a rookie last season. The offensive line in Arizona wasn’t a strength because of injuries and a lack of talent and Rosen struggled, completing just 55.2% of his passes. Rosen will again be saddled with a poor offensive line and it’s arguable that the weapons around him in Miami are inferior to the ones he had out in the desert.
The former No. 10 overall pick has seen action on two occasions this season, both coming late in Miami’s pair of blowout losses. He’s completed 8-of-21 pass attempts for 102 yards so far during his time in Miami.
As part of their spending spree during the 2018 offseason, the Jets brought in Trumaine Johnson on a five-year, $72MM deal. Earlier this week, Johnson found himself benched against the Browns because of ineffective play.
“It just hasn’t worked out as well as we need it to. The good thing is we have a long ways to go,” head coach Adam Gase said (h/t Michael David Smith of PFT).
The Jets organization reportedly does not believe that the cornerback enjoys football. Johnson missed six games last season with five of those coming because of a quad injury and one coming because of suspension (tardiness).
As our own Zach Links noted, releasing Johnson now would leave the Jets with $24MM in dead money and no salary cap benefit. Cutting him after the season would allow New York to save just $3MM against the cap but leave them with $12MM in dead money.
The Dolphins claim they aren’t tanking, but their fans are skeptical of that. Turns out, the NFL is a bit skeptical, too. The league’s competition committee is likely to look into whether the Dolphins have purposefully stripped down their team in 2019 in order to lose games and secure the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft. 
“The committee will probably have the questions posed to it again, if not by the media, maybe by teams,” a league source told Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic. “It’s likely the competition committee will have to address this issue.”
The committee would certainly have a good case to make, should they prob into the Dolphins’ affairs. In the last few weeks, the Dolphins have unloaded young stars Minkah Fitzpatrick and Laremy Tunsil in exchange for draft capital. Meanwhile, they’ve been outscored 102-10 through two weeks of the season.
“It’s a bad look,” said one team source.
There is some precedent for the league looking into potential tanking. Five years ago, the committee questioned the Browns’ motives, but ultimately did not take action.
This time around, it’s possible that the NFL will give real thought to installing a lottery system for the draft, similar to the NBA.
Jalen Ramsey is on the block, and just about every NFL team is interested, as Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets. Specifically, the Chiefs, Ravens, Vikings, Raiders, Eagles, and Seahawks have all made “substantive inquiries” on the Jaguars cornerback, Anderson reports.
At this point, it feels like a certainty that Ramsey will be traded. And that deal is expected to go down soon. The Jags are reportedly hoping to move Ramsey on Friday, though he’ll still suit up for Thursday night’s game against the Titans. 
In an interesting twist, the Titans also expressed interest in Ramsey, Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears, though the price proved to be too high for them and some other interested teams. That, sadly, rules out a scenario like the famed 1978 76ers/Nets trade that saw Eric Money (real name) play, and score, for both teams in the same game (kidding).
In any sport, it’s dicey to put a player on the field when he’s on the verge of being traded. That’s especially true in football, but if this week’s rumblings are true, then the Jaguars will be willing to roll the dice for their national TV game against Tennessee.
After that, Ramsey will likely suit up for another club, but he won’t be eligible to play twice in the same week.