HEADLINES

Month: October 2024

Chiefs’ Mike Pennel Suspended 2 Games

August 25th, 2020 at 3:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Already set to be without Bashaud Breeland for four games, the Chiefs are also slated to begin their Super Bowl title defense without defensive tackle Mike Pennel.

The NFL suspended Pennel two games on Tuesday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Pennel played in 11 Chiefs contests last season, including each of their three playoff games.

Kansas City re-signed Pennel to a one-year deal in March, doing so after the 330-pound interior defensive lineman played a key role in the team’s late-season defensive performance. Pennel played well as a run defender for the Chiefs, with Pro Football Focus giving him a top-20 grade in this area among interior D-linemen last season. Although Pennel only played 154 regular-season snaps, he saw action on 52 defensive plays in the playoffs.

This will be Pennel’s seventh NFL season. The Chiefs initially signed him in October 2019, doing so after the Patriots cut him during training camp. He helped turn the tide after Kansas City’s run defense delivered a historic futility stretch during the season’s first half.

West Notes: Williamses, Broncos, Fans

August 25th, 2020 at 2:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chargers suddenly have an issue at wide receiver. Already carrying a thin depth chart beyond Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, the Bolts now have just Allen and not much else in the way of proven targets healthy. Williams is battling a shoulder injury, one that Anthony Lynn said will keep the 2017 first-rounder “out for a while,” Daniel Popper of The Athletic tweets. As of Monday, Williams was expected to be ready for the Chargers’ Week 1 game. But Lynn said Tuesday he is not sure that will be the case. The former Clemson standout battled injuries in college and has frequently dealt with setbacks as a pro. But he has mostly been available for the Bolts, having played in 31 regular-season games over the past two seasons. The Chargers may well pursue receiver help via free agency soon.

Here is the latest from the West divisions, moving first to a former Chargers receiver:

  • Tyrell Williams will try to play through some familiar pain this season. The Raiders wideout suffered a torn shoulder labrum, but as of now, the veteran is not envisioning a prolonged absence, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). After a multi-week rest period, Williams will attempt to play despite this ailment. Shoulder issues have become chronic for the ex-Charger. He played four games despite a labrum tear in 2016 and played through this issue in the same right shoulder as a senior at Western Oregon in 2014. But Williams is not a lock to finish the season, with his agent informing NFL reporter Josina Anderson (Twitter link) surgery may be on the table if the shoulder “continues to dislocate.”
  • Only two Broncos defenders remain from the team’s Super Bowl champion unit. Along with Von Miller, linebacker Todd Davis is still with the team. The latter, however, is currently out with a calf injury, Troy Renck of Denver7 tweets. Davis missed most of the Broncos’ 2019 training camp with a calf malady. Denver, which just lost rookie linebacker Justin Strnad for the season, did not do much at linebacker this offseason and is again counting on Davis to be a starter.
  • SoFi Stadium will debut next month, but fans will not be permitted to watch those games. The Chargers and Rams will not have fans at home games “until further notice,” the teams announced. The 49ers will take a similar route. No fans will attend their Week 1 game against the Cardinals. With California being one of the most cautious states during the pandemic, this is certainly not unexpected.
  • Possessing one of the NFL’s premier home-field advantages, the Seahawks will not have the luxury of fans creating that edge for them for a while. The team will not have fans in the stands for at least its first three home games. Seattle’s first three home games are scheduled to occur in Week 2 (Patriots), Week 3 (Cowboys) and Week 5 (Vikings). The NFL will not regulate each team’s fan policy, leaving it up to teams and cities to determine stadium capacities this season.

49ers Working Out Kevin White, Justin Hardy, Other WRs

August 25th, 2020 at 1:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite agreeing to terms with three veteran wide receivers recently, the 49ers are still looking for help at the position. They are working out four wideouts Tuesday.

Former top-10 pick Kevin White, ex-Falcons role player Justin Hardy, Johnny Holton and River Cracraft are taking part in the audition, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. This marks White’s second workout in a week. The Jets brought in the former Bears draftee previously.

San Francisco already added Tavon Austin, J.J. Nelson and Jaron Brown, but the team is dealing with a host of injuries. Deebo Samuel remains out with his foot fracture, while Richie James is battling a broken hand. First-round pick Brandon Aiyuk is dealing with a hamstring injury, further clouding the 49ers’ potential first-string wideout picture. Jalen Hurd also suffered an ACL tear recently, with that setback following Travis Benjamin‘s opt-out decision.

Kyle Shanahan was in Atlanta when the Falcons drafted Hardy in the 2015 fourth round. He played five seasons with the Falcons, playing a reserve role. While Hardy has 95 career catches for 946 yards, he has never eclipsed 225 in a season. Holton played a lesser role for the Raiders and played 16 games — mostly as a special-teamer — with the Steelers in 2019. Cracraft has operated mostly as a Broncos return man. The latter’s most recent work in Denver came in ex-49ers assistant Rich Scangarello‘s offense.

White went nearly a year without a connection to an NFL team. The Cardinals released the former No. 7 overall pick last August, but he has begun to resurface on the NFL radar. Although White has played in only 14 games since being a sought-after 2015 prospect, 2020 would still be just his age-28 season. It does not appear teams are throwing in the towel on his career yet.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/25/20

August 25th, 2020 at 11:51am CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

  • Signed: WR Alex Wesley
  • Released: WR Trevor Davis
  • Waived/injured: TE Darion Clark

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Latest On Cowboys, Earl Thomas

August 25th, 2020 at 10:40am CST by Zachary Links

Will the Cowboys’ longstanding love affair with Earl Thomas result in a deal? That depends on who you ask. The Cowboys are not expected to pursue Thomas, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link) and other reports from earlier this week. However, in an interview with 105.3 The Fan, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones did not rule out the possibility of signing the safety (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). 

Jones explained that the Cowboys have discussed Thomas internally and considered him against their current group of safeties. Next, Jones says he’ll chat directly with Thomas’ agent.

Thomas, a seven-time Pro Bowler, quickly wore out his welcome with the Ravens. His final years with the Seahawks played out similarly and included several overt S.O.S. signals to the Cowboys. In theory, the Cowboys don’t need Thomas, thanks to the addition of Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Still, it’s hard to pass up the chance to add Thomas to the group, which also includes Xavier Woods and Darian Thompson.

Thomas, 31, registered 49 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, and four passes defensed in his first season with the Ravens. For his career, Thomas has notched 713 stops, 30 interceptions, and three First-Team All-Pro nods.

Cardinals, Budda Baker Agree To Record-Breaking Extension 

August 25th, 2020 at 10:19am CST by Zachary Links

Budda Baker is now the highest-paid safety in NFL history. On Tuesday, the Cardinals agreed to a four-year, $59MM extension with their young standout defender (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). 

[RELATED: Cardinals To Sign Dre Kirkpatrick]

Baker’s deal includes a whopping $33.1MM guaranteed and comes out to an annual average of $14.75MM. Before the re-up, Baker was set to earn just $1.396MM in base pay in the walk year of his rookie deal. With that, Baker tops the previous watermark set by Bears safety Eddie Jackson, who signed a four-year, $58.4MM extension with the Bears earlier this year.

The 24-year-old has impressed across three pro seasons, though he has never intercepted a pass as a pro. He has, however, notched 323 tackles, 3.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and 14 passes defensed in total. Last year, he registered 104 solo stops to lead the league. Baker appeared as a slot corner earlier in his career, but he’s clearly found a home as a safety.

With Baker, edge rusher Chandler Jones, cornerback Patrick Peterson, and versatile rookie linebacker Isaiah Simmons, the Cardinals boast one of the league’s most intriguing defenses. They’ll look to put it all together in 2020 and improve on their 5-10-1 mark from last year.

Baker’s deal has surely captured the attention of new Seahawks safety Jamal Adams. Adams has spent years lobbying for a market-setting contract and he’ll surely leapfrog Baker in 2021. For now, Adams has agreed to table the talks.

49ers To Sign TE Erik Swoope

August 25th, 2020 at 10:05am CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers have agreed to sign tight end Erik Swoope, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Swoope spent the 2019 season away from football after being dropped by the Raiders last summer.

[RELATED: 49ers To Consider Earl Thomas?]

Swoope, a former basketball standout at the University of Miami, had a noteworthy year with the Colts in 2016. Thanks in part to injury, the 28-year-old has yet to see similar playing time since then or match his average of 19.8 yards per reception (across a limited sample of 15 catches). Injuries have been partly to blame, including a 2017 season that was wiped out by knee surgery.

The 49ers already boast the scariest TE duo in the league in George Kittle and Jordan Reed. Still, Reed has been limited throughout camp and reinforcements wouldn’t be a bad idea given his troubling history with concussions.

In other Niners news, the club has been connected with free agent safety Earl Thomas. There might not be as much competition for the Pro Bowler as expected – the Falcons, Texans, and other possible fits have decided to pass.

Browns’ Grant Delpit Done For Year

August 25th, 2020 at 8:59am CST by Zachary Links

Grant Delpit has suffered a season-ending Achilles tear (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). The Browns will place the safety on IR, ending the rookie’s season before it could even begin. 

Delpit was widely viewed as a first-round prospected heading into his junior year at LSU. Then, his stock slipped a bit, allowing the Browns to scoop him up at No. 44 overall. He was expected to be a pillar of the Browns’ young secondary this year, alongside Denzel Ward and former Tigers teammate Greedy Williams. Instead, they’ll have to wait until next year to see what he can do.

Fortunately, the Browns have backup. New addition Andrew Sendejo figures to step into the starting free safety job and join Karl Joseph in deep coverage. Sendejo, a longtime starter for the Vikings, has been first-string for 61 of his career games. Still, he’s entering his age-33 season, and he doesn’t offer the same kind of tantalizing upside as Delpit.

This is just the latest training camp injury for the Browns, following linebacker Mack Wilson‘s knee injury and cornerback Kevin Johnson‘s lacerated liver. On the plus side, Johnson was released from the hospital rather quickly, which could allow for a relatively quick return to action.

Falcons To Release G Jamon Brown

August 24th, 2020 at 5:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Falcons will release veteran guard Jamon Brown, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). This move will be somewhat costly for the team, but it also may signal a potential long-term starter is ready to begin his first-string tenure.

Brown started nine games for the Falcons last season but has been vying for the team’s left guard job with third-round rookie Matt Hennessy. The latter, drafted as a center out of Temple, may be on track to winning that battle, Yates adds. However, the Falcons still employ veteran James Carpenter as well.

Atlanta signed both Brown and Carpenter last year, and those acquisitions preceded the team’s first-round selection of Chris Lindstrom. The latter missed much of his rookie season. Brown was due $4.75MM in guaranteed base salary from the Falcons this season. As of Monday afternoon, the Falcons only held $8.4MM in cap space. This transaction will cut into that figure.

The veteran guard has bounced around a bit since a 2018 suspension resulted in him losing his Rams starting job. The Giants claimed Brown on waivers after the Rams cut him, and the Falcons signed him to a three-year, $18.75MM deal last March.

South Rumors: Saints, Kelly, Titans, Jaguars

August 24th, 2020 at 5:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints are currently without one of their starting offensive linemen. That may be the case for a bit. Andrus Peat suffered a broken thumb, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Recently re-signed to a lucrative deal, Peat is set to be out up to three weeks, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com notes. While the sixth-year guard could be ready for Week 1, the Saints have an experienced interior-line swing man ready to fill in. Former Vikings starter Nick Easton is now working in Peat’s place at left guard. Easton replaced an injured Peat as a starter in six games last season.

Here is the latest from the South divisions:

  • Alvin Kamara and the Saints began extension talks last week, but the sides may be far apart on terms. A deal is not particularly close at this juncture, Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football tweets. Kamara is going into the final year of his third-round rookie contract. The three-time Pro Bowler will make just $2.13MM this season. Kamara joins Dalvin Cook, Aaron Jones and Joe Mixon among 2017 running back draftees in negotiations. This group will battle a few hurdles — short running back primes, the position’s low value, poor returns on a few recent high-end running back deals and a likely 2021 cap reduction — as they attempt to secure long-term deals.
  • Jameis Winston has hired a new agent. The new Saints QB2 has selected Reggie Johnson of Stellar Group to represent him, Greg Auman of The Athletic tweets. Johnson will be Winston’s third agent since 2018. The former Buccaneers starter may be a long-term option for the Saints, but unlike Drew Brees and Taysom Hill, Winston is signed only through 2020. He could also be set to test the market again next year.
  • Ryan Kelly said in May he and the Colts were discussing an extension. With a contract season looming, the Pro Bowl center insists he would like to stay in Indianapolis long-term, Joel Erickson of the Indianapolis Star notes. Given Kelly’s age (27) and importance to a Colts O-line that ranks as one of the NFL’s best, he is in line to become the NFL’s highest-paid center — perhaps by a notable margin. Rodney Hudson‘s second Raiders deal currently resides atop the center list, at $11.25MM per year. This AAV figure sits more than $3MM below the top guard salary and nearly $11MM south of the leading tackle contract.
  • The Titans worked out one of their former linebackers Monday. Will Compton auditioned for the team, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Compton, 30, played 12 games for the 2018 Titans, starting two. He last played for the Raiders, suiting up for nine Oakland contests in 2019.
  • An assault case against Jaguars fullback Bruce Miller has been dismissed, according to Miller’s attorney (via Matt Barrows of The Athletic, on Twitter). Miller, 33, has not played since 2015. After allegedly assaulting a man and his son in 2016 in San Francisco, Miller was charged with aggravated assault and elder abuse.
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