HEADLINES

Month: October 2024

Cardinals Hosting Dre Kirkpatrick On Visit

August 21st, 2020 at 4:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cardinals have already signed a former Bengals cornerback, agreeing to terms with B.W. Webb. They are now going back to Vance Joseph‘s days in Cincinnati to explore another addition to their secondary.

Longtime Bengals corner Dre Kirkpatrick is visiting the Cardinals, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Bengals drafted Kirkpatrick in the first round in 2012, and his eight-year Ohio stay overlapped with Joseph’s two-year stint (2014-15) as Bengals secondary coach.

Arizona again lost Robert Alford for the season, again leaving the team shorthanded opposite Patrick Peterson. Although the Cards feature 2019 second-rounder Byron Murphy, they have added Webb and ex-Saints starter Ken Crawley this week. Kirkpatrick would continue the veteran-heavy approach the team is now taking at this position.

Interestingly, Kirkpatrick’s free agency rumors have centered around his former coaches. Both the Vikings and Raiders, whose defenses are respectively run by ex-Bengals DCs Mike Zimmer and Paul Guenther, showed interest earlier this year. But each team moved in another direction. Kirkpatrick moved into a full-time starting role under Joseph in 2015, helping the Bengals to their best season in decades.

A knee injury ended up ending Kirkpatrick’s Bengals run. He played just six games last season and became a cap casualty this year. But the former Alabama standout, now 30, brings 67 starts’ worth of experience.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/21/20

August 21st, 2020 at 2:39pm CST by Rory Parks

Here are today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

  • Placed on IR: TE Darion Clark

Indianapolis Colts

  • Claimed (from Panthers): TE Andrew Vollert

New York Jets

  • Signed: S Anthony Cioffi

Pittsburgh Steelers

Bills, Ravens Monitoring Ziggy Ansah

August 21st, 2020 at 2:18pm CST by Rory Parks

The Bills and Ravens have free agent DE Ziggy Ansah on their radar, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. Ansah has sent a workout video of himself to NFL teams in an effort to show that he is fully recovered from his recent shoulder injuries.

Of course, Ansah and Jadeveon Clowney were supposed to be an edge rushing nightmare for the Seahawks last year, but things didn’t work out as planned. Clowney managed just three sacks and Ansah posted only 2.5 sacks in eleven games. Still, the potential is there – Ansah registered 12 sacks in 2017 for the Lions, and he would be a serious threat if he could regain his old form. Now another year removed from the shoulder surgery that marred his 2018 season and delayed his 2019 debut, he profiles as a potential low-risk/high-reward pickup.

The 49ers brought Ansah in for a workout earlier this month, but it’s presently unclear where things stand on that front. Buffalo and Baltimore, meanwhile, both boast strong defenses that could nonetheless benefit from another pass rusher.

The Bills bid adieu to last season’s sack leaders, Jordan Phillips and Shaq Lawson, in free agency, though they did add Iowa standout AJ Epenesa in the second round of this year’s draft. The Ravens, meanwhile, don’t have much by way of proven edge rushing depth behind Matt Judon, and while the club has been loosely connected to Clowney and Yannick Ngakoue, the price tag for either player probably puts them out of Baltimore’s range.

Ansah, 31, has one Pro Bowl to his credit, which came after a 14.5-sack campaign in 2015. The fifth overall pick of the 2013 draft appears ready to sign with a new team as soon as possible.

Bucs’ T.J. Logan Likely To Miss Season

August 21st, 2020 at 1:57pm CST by Rory Parks

T.J. Logan just can’t catch a break. Per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Logan sustained a patellar tendon injury in yesterday’s practice and is likely to miss the season (Twitter link).

A fifth-round pick of the Cardinals in the 2017 draft, Logan missed his entire rookie campaign due to an injured wrist. He got some work as a kick returner in 2018, but Arizona waived him before the start of the 2019 campaign.

The Bucs claimed him off waivers, and he became Tampa’s primary return specialist, handling 13 punts and 13 kickoffs. Unfortunately, a thumb injury suffered last December cut his season a bit short, and now he will have to wait until 2021 to get back on the field.

A running back by trade, Logan had a good chance to reprise his role as the Bucs’ kick returner in 2020, and he may have had the opportunity to see some time as a change-of-pace option in the backfield. He has nine receptions and five rushing attempts in his career.

Making matters worse is the fact that the injury came from friendly fire. Per Patrik Walker of CBS Sports, linebacker Quinton Bell tackled Logan from behind during a non-tackling period of practice, drawing the ire of his teammates and head coach Bruce Arians.

As James Palmer of the NFL Network tweets, Arians has indicated that rookie RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn could get a shot at return duties. In addition to Vaughn, a third-round choice, and seventh-rounder Raymond Calais, the Buccaneers signed veteran LeSean McCoy to buttress their rushing attack, fronted by the inconsistent Ronald Jones.

College Football Notes: Winter Season, Slater, Lance

August 21st, 2020 at 1:11pm CST by Rory Parks

Just like everything else in the world, college football has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. And the NFL, whose talent comes almost exclusively from the collegiate ranks, is willing to do whatever it can to make sure college football is played before the 2021 NFL draft.

As Albert Breer of SI.com writes, college coaches have discussed starting their season not in the spring, but on January 1, which would allow them to play out an eight-game season and even a postseason by mid-March. The NFL is willing to assist with that endeavor, whether that means offering its stadiums — like the Lions’ Ford Field — or pushing back its combine and draft.

Of course, the Big Ten and Pac-12 have already announced plans to postpone their fall schedules to the spring, but a winter season may make it more likely that top college prospects choose to play rather than declare for the draft. Either way, it seems inevitable that the NFL will need to make some serious adjustments to its 2021 offseason schedule, but the league seems prepared to do so.

Now for more collegiate notes that could have a major impact on the professional game:

  • Northwestern OT Rashawn Slater is opting out of the 2020 season, per Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Slater is viewed as one of the best O-line prospects in the country — he was one of the few players to limit Ohio State star Chase Young last year — and Thamel believes Slater will not fall out of the first round.
  • Slater’s Big Ten colleague, Michigan CB Ambry Thomas, has also declared for the 2021 draft, a decision that Thomas himself announced via Twitter. Thomas just became a full-time contributor on defense in 2019, and he was excellent in press coverage. A likely Day 2 selection, he also has appeal as a kick returner.
  • One of the country’s premier FCS programs, North Dakota State, will not be playing football in 2020, as Andrew Groover of the NFL Network tweets. NDSU quarterback Trey Lance, whom NFL.com analyst Daniel Jeremiah has compared favorably to former Colts QB Andrew Luck, is a candidate to opt out of the program’s spring season and declare for the draft.
  • Per Thamel, the NCAA Division I Council has decided that fall sport student-athletes can participate in any number of competitions this year without it counting towards their eligibility (Twitter link). So if, say, a senior in the SEC has a down season in 2020, he can return next year to try and rebuild his stock.

Chargers Guarantee Melvin Ingram’s 2020 Salary

August 21st, 2020 at 11:54am CST by Rory Parks

Chargers defensive end Melvin Ingram had been sitting out of practice in hopes of getting a new deal. He doesn’t have a new deal yet, but he does have some newfound security.

As Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter), Ingram signed an adjusted contract that guarantees his 2020 salary, which checks in at a hefty $14MM. While the Bolts were unlikely to cut Ingram to save that money, the 31-year-old is now assured of earning a very nice income this season. As such, he has returned to the practice field.

It’s unclear what, if anything, this means for contract talks between player and team, though both sides have benefited from their eight-year relationship. From 2015-18, Ingram started every game for the Chargers and averaged nine sacks per season. Though he missed three games last season due to injury, he collected his third consecutive Pro Bowl nod.

The South Carolina product may not be one of the league’s most feared pass rushers, but he is consistently able to apply pressure to opposing quarterbacks, and those types of players get paid handsomely in today’s NFL. He is shooting for one last big-money contract — he is entering the final year of the four-year, $66MM deal he signed in 2017 — and he has a good chance of getting it, whether that happens this season or in 2021.

If the Chargers’ key defenders can stay healthy this year, the club will have a good chance to rebound from a disappointing 2019 season and return to the playoffs.

Packers Eyeing David Bakhtiari Extension

August 21st, 2020 at 11:14am CST by Rory Parks

Aaron Rodgers‘ longtime blindside protector, David Bakhtiari, is entering the final year of the four-year extension he signed with the Packers just before the 2016 campaign. He has more than lived up to that contract, earning two Pro Bowl nods and one First Team All-Pro bid over the past four seasons.

He is unquestionably one of the best left tackles in the league, and as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network observes, Green Bay would love to get an extension finalized before Week 1 (Twitter link). After all, the LT market is rapidly heating up, and Bakhtiari’s deal now places him outside of the top-10 in terms of average annual value.

When asked back in June if there were any ongoing negotiations with the Packers, the soon-to-be 29-year-old was tight-lipped. Though he did commit 12 penalties in 2019, including a career-high five false starts, he chalked that up to learning a new offensive system. Indeed, he did not commit any penalties in the final four games of the campaign, and if he turns in a typical performance in 2020, he will have every right to demand a contract similar to the monstrous three-year, $66MM pact ($50MM guaranteed) that Laremy Tunsil recently signed with the Texans.

The Packers certainly would like to get Bakhtiari tethered to something a little more team-friendly, so it stands to reason that they would try to lock him up sooner rather than later. That is especially true in light of the expected salary cap decrease in 2021.

In other OL news for Green Bay, offseason acquisition Ricky Wagner left practice with a left arm injury yesterday, as Tom Silverstein and Jim Owczarski of PackersNews.com write. If Wagner misses an extended period of time, look for the club to line up 2019 right guard Billy Turner at right tackle and Lane Taylor at right guard.

Chiefs To Sign OL Daniel Kilgore

August 21st, 2020 at 10:39am CST by Rory Parks

The Chiefs intend to sign veteran offensive lineman Daniel Kilgore, as Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). Kilgore, 32, is about to enter his 10th season in the NFL.

The Appalachian State product was selected by the 49ers in the fifth round of the 2011 draft. It took him until the 2014 season to record his first career start, and then he ran into some tough injury luck, sustaining a broken leg that wiped out a good portion of his 2014-15 seasons.

He battled back to start 13 games at center in 2016 and a full 16-game slate in 2017. The advanced metrics have never been high on his work, but the 49ers certainly liked him enough to keep him around for a number of years and even signed him to a three-year extension after the 2017 season, only to ship him to the Dolphins several months later.

But in 2018, his first season with the ‘Fins, Kilgore played in only four games due to a torn pec. Though he played in 13 contests (all starts) in 2019, Miami was not terribly impressed and declined his 2020 option, making him a free agent. The Chiefs are the first team with reported interest.

It’s presently unclear whether Kilgore will push incumbent Kansas City center Austin Reiter for playing time, or if he projects as more of a depth piece. Kilgore has played guard in his career as well, so he could back up that position in the wake of Laurent Duvernay-Tardif‘s decision to opt out. Of course, the club also signed Kelechi Osemele to help fill the void left by LDT.

Raiders Eyeing Yannick Ngakoue

August 21st, 2020 at 10:00am CST by Zachary Links

There’s nothing imminent on the Yannick Ngakoue front, but the Raiders are keeping an eye on the Jaguars defensive end, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears (Twitter link). There are several obstacles to a deal, but Rapoport stresses that it’s not an impossibility. 

Multiple teams have shown interest in Ngakoue, but Rapoport hears that the Raiders have been the only club to maintain active discussions. That jibes with what we’ve heard lately. Last week, we heard that the Jets are no longer interested. The Seahawks, meanwhile, were connnected to Ngakoue in the spring, but lately we’ve been hearing more about a possible reunion with Jadeveon Clowney or a play for veteran Clay Matthews.

The Raiders could make a characteristically bold move for Ngakoue, adding him to their group of edge talent led by Clelin Ferrell and Maxx Crosby. Still, the asking price is steep. The Jaguars want more than a second-round pick for Ngakoue and GM Dave Caldwell is still playing hard to get. Ngakoue hasn’t signed his tender, and he still says that he does not want to play for Jacksonville, but Caldwell says that they’re not close on a trade with any club.

Ngakoue, 25, has been at odds with the Jaguars for months. The Jaguars have moved on from Jalen Ramsey, Calais Campbell, and A.J. Bouye within the last year, but they have yet to bend to Ngakoue’s trade demand.

Raiders To Meet With Cardale Jones

August 21st, 2020 at 9:02am CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders will audition quarterback Cardale Jones on Friday afternoon, according to Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The former Ohio State standout has made multiple stops in the NFL but has just one pro game under his belt. 

Jones played for the D.C. Defenders in the XFL’s short-lived reboot. His stats weren’t great – he completely just 61 of 113 throws for 674 yards and four touchdowns against seven interceptions. Previous to that, Jones spent time with the Chargers, Seahawks, and Bills.

In 2015,  Jones emerged as a superstar for the Buckeyes when quarterbacks Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett were lost to injury. After leading Ohio State to victory over Oregon in the National Championship game, Jones went from a relative unknown to a bonafide NFL prospect. He was benched midway through the 2016 season, but many believed that big things were in store for the athletic QB when the Bills tapped him in the fourth-round of the draft. Ultimately, he only appeared in one game for Buffalo.

Even if Jones lands a deal, he may face long odds of making the final cut. The Raiders seem well set under center with Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota, and Nathan Peterman on the QB depth chart.

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