HEADLINES

Month: January 2025

Cowboys Claim WR Malik Turner

September 6th, 2020 at 1:05pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Cowboys have added another pass-catcher, as Dallas claimed former Seahawks and Packers receiver Malik Turner off waivers Sunday morning.

A 2018 UDFA from Illinois, Turner spent most of his rookie season on Seattle’s practice squad. He played a decent-sized role on offense for them last year though, appearing in 15 games and making three starts. Overall he played around 22 percent of the offensive snaps while also playing a big role on special teams. He finished the year with 15 receptions for 245 yards and a touchdown, averaging a robust 16.3 yards per catch.

Seattle originally tendered him as an exclusive rights free agent, then pulled that tender. He waited until August to sign with the Packers, then was cut yesterday. The Cowboys have a great receiving trio of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb, but they don’t have much after that so it makes sense to pick up someone like Turner and see if he can develop behind them.

Panthers Claim CB Rasul Douglas, OT Trenton Scott, DE Shareef Miller

September 6th, 2020 at 12:42pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Panthers were busy on Sunday morning, making three waiver claims, which tied them for the most of any team. Carolina added cornerback Rasul Douglas, offensive tackle Trenton Scott, and defensive end Shareef Miller. 

Douglas and Miller came from the Eagles, while Scott had been with the Chargers. As Joe Person of The Athletic pointed out in a tweet, the new regime in Carolina has connections to all three of them, which makes a lot of sense as teams are looking for familiarity above all else right now. New Panthers player personnel director Pat Stewart was with Philly the past couple of years, while new offensive line coach Pat Meyer was with the Chargers.

Douglas was drafted by the Eagles in the third-round back in 2017, and he started at least five games in each of the past three seasons. He was a cutdown victim yesterday as Philadelphia chose to purge and start completely fresh in their secondary. He’s had at least ten passes defended in two of three seasons, and had three interceptions in 2018.

Philly drafted Miller in the fourth-round out of Penn State last year, but he was a disappointment and only appeared in one game. Now he’ll get another crack on a rebuilding defense. Scott is a 2018 UDFA from Grambling State who was suddenly thrust into a prominent role with Los Angeles last year after Russell Okung went down with blood clots.

Scott ended up starting nine games protecting Philip Rivers‘ blindside, and played 78 percent of their offensive snaps overall. Now he’ll be reuniting with Meyer as well as Okung, who was dealt to Carolina earlier this offseason. He struggled mightily at times protecting Rivers, but is still only 26 and now has some nice starting experience.

Dolphins Sign WR Antonio Callaway

September 6th, 2020 at 12:39pm CST by Rory Parks

The Dolphins recently brought Antonio Callaway in for a workout, and they apparently liked what they saw. As Callaway himself posted on social media, he is now a member of the Dolphins (via Mark Wheeler of InsideTheGators.com on Twitter).

According to Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com, Callaway will start the season on Miami’s practice squad (Twitter link). He still needs to serve the remaining three games of the 10-game suspension that he was handed last season for his second violation of the league’s substance abuse policy, but he will be permitted to attend meetings and continue to rehab the knee injury he sustained as a member of the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers earlier this year.

The Browns selected Callaway in the fourth round of the 2018 draft after a productive career at the University of Florida. He entered the league with plenty of red flags, and he was largely unable to overcome them in the pros, as evidenced by the two suspensions. But he also displayed plenty of promise in his first season with Cleveland, playing in 16 games (11 starts) and recording 43 catches for 586 yards and five TDs.

The Dolphins’ WR corps is fronted by Preston Williams and DeVante Parker, but once Callaway returns from suspension, he will have a good chance to compete for snaps on a rebuilding outfit that’s looking for low-risk, high-reward candidates.

Steelers Sign S Sean Davis, Claim QB Josh Dobbs, Cut QB Devlin Hodges

September 6th, 2020 at 12:21pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Steelers are bringing back a couple of familiar faces. Pittsburgh is signing safety Sean Davis and they’ve claimed quarterback Josh Dobbs off waivers from the Jaguars, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links).

In order to make room for Dobbs, the team has cut fellow quarterback Devlin Hodges. The Steelers drafted Davis in the second round in 2016, and he spent his first four years in Pittsburgh. He started 31 games between 2017-18, but missed almost all of last season due to injury. He signed a one-year deal worth $5MM with Washington this offseason, but couldn’t make it out of camp.

During these uncertain times, teams are clearly placing an emphasis on familiarity and system knowledge. Davis played closer to the line of scrimmage his first couple of pro seasons, but moved to free safety in 2018. The Steelers drafted Dobbs in the fourth-round in 2017, but he became expendable when they drafted Mason Rudolph the following year and they ended up trading him to Jacksonville.

Dobbs lost the battle in Jacksonville to be Gardner Minshew‘s backup, which is how he ended up on waivers. Ben Roethlisberger is coming off a season-ending elbow injury, and Pittsburgh apparently wants all the insurance they can get behind him.

Hodges was an incredible story last year, as the unheralded UDFA from Samford was promoted from the practice squad after Big Ben went down and ended up starting games. Hodges ended up starting six games, becoming a fan favorite in the process. He declined sharply as more tape on him became available, but he’ll still probably end up on Pittsburgh’s or someone else’s practice squad.

Bengals Waive G Alex Redmond

September 6th, 2020 at 11:46am CST by Rory Parks

The Bengals have waived guard Alex Redmond, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network (via Twitter). In a corresponding move, the team has claimed Shaq Calhoun off waivers from the Dolphins, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.

Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2016, Redmond worked his way onto the Bengals’ roster and eventually earned a starting spot along the team’s offensive front. In 2018, Redmond started 15 games for Cincinnati, though he was not particularly effective. He was suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season for violating the league’s PED policy, and he ultimately appeared in just three games (two starts) last season due to the suspension and injury.

In Calhoun, the Bengals are getting a slightly younger player to provide O-line depth. The Mississippi State product signed with Miami as a UDFA last year and ultimately played in 10 games (seven starts). According to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics, Calhourn struggled in both pass-blocking and run-blocking, but clearly Cincinnati — which has top waiver priority — saw something it liked.

AFC East Notes: Gilmore, Bell, Callaway

September 6th, 2020 at 10:55am CST by Rory Parks

Patriots star CB Stephon Gilmore is set to earn $10.5MM this year, which is quite a bargain when considering that the top of the CB market now features average annual values in the $17MM range. But it does not appear that Gilmore is pushing for a new deal at this time, and though he missed five practices in a row last month, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com says the absence was not contract-related.

Now for a few more AFC East items:

  • For months, Jarrett Stidham looked like he would be the Patriots‘ starting QB and would serve as the heir apparent to Tom Brady. But now, Reiss says Stidham might actually be the third-stringer behind Cam Newton and Brian Hoyer, and his inability to generate any momentum in training camp has cast his long-term future in doubt.
  • In the same piece linked above, Reiss says that Jermaine Eluemunor has definitively seized the Patriots’ RT job.
  • Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, Jets RB Le’Veon Bell says he has no issues with head coach Adam Gase. In his first comments since his publicly questioning Gase’s decision to pull him out of a recent scrimmage, Bell said, “I don’t understand why everybody is trying to put me and Gase against each other. We’re not against each other. I don’t understand why it’s so hard to believe, but we actually like each other” (via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com). Though Bell may not make it past this year’s trading deadline with Gang Green, it is in his and Gase’s best interests to limit the drama and focus on getting Bell back to his old form.
  • Former Browns receiver Antonio Callaway recently tried out for the Dolphins, as Albert Breer of SI.com notes (via Twitter). Callaway, a 2018 fourth-round pick, has plenty of promise but has had a very rocky start to his pro career, including two separate suspensions for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He hooked on with the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers in January but suffered a leg injury shortly after signing, and this is the first time we have heard his name in NFL circles since then.
  • The Dolphins just waived QB Josh Rosen, and as Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets, the team could now reunite with Jake Rudock, who spent last season on the Miami practice squad.

Bears To Sign DE Mario Edwards

September 6th, 2020 at 9:47am CST by Rory Parks

It didn’t take long for Mario Edwards to find a new home. One day after being released by the Saints, the veteran defensive end has agreed to sign with the Bears, as Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter).

New Orleans was reportedly interested in re-signing Edwards to its practice squad, but the Bears were quick to pounce in an effort to bolster their defensive line depth. Though Chicago’s LB corps looks pretty stout, the club is a bit thin along the D-line in the wake of Eddie Goldman‘s decision to opt out of the 2020 season.

Edwards is not a replacement for Goldman, a nose tackle, but he will provide a more experienced DE to bookend with Akiem Hicks. He will likely push 2018 fifth-rounder Bilal Nichols for playing time.

Now 26, Edwards has never lived up to his status as a second-round draft choice. The Raiders selected the Florida State product in the 2015 draft, but he was waived after three seasons with Oakland. The Giants claimed him off waivers, and he parlayed his one year with Big Blue into a two-year, $5MM pact with the Saints last offseason. New Orleans liked him enough to keep him on this year’s practice squad but did not consider him good enough to be a part of its deep D-line rotation.

The Bears, however, don’t have as much depth, so they will give Edwards a spot on the 53-man roster.

Lions Sign Adrian Peterson

September 6th, 2020 at 8:18am CST by Rory Parks

Adrian Peterson is back in the NFC North. After being released by Washington on Friday, the longtime Viking and future Hall-of-Fame running back is signing with the Lions, as veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson was first to report (Twitter link).

Per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, Peterson’s deal with Detroit will be a one-year pact worth a minimum of $1.05MM, though there are incentives to push that number a bit higher (Twitter link). Sources tell Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that the deal will max out at $2.3MM and that the incentives are based upon yardage and touchdowns.

Although the Lions’ RB room is crowded, it also has a few question marks. The club selected Kerryon Johnson in the second round of the 2018 draft, and while he has shown flashes of promise, he has missed significant time over his first two years in the league due to knee injuries. Detroit added one of the best RB prospects in this year’s draft in Georgia product D’Andre Swift, but Swift missed nearly two weeks of training camp with a knee injury.

So there is definitely a possibility that Peterson could play a significant role, at least early on in the season as Swift tries to make up for lost time. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press believes Peterson will end up poaching more of Johnson’s expected work than Swift’s, including, perhaps, goal-line touches.

With the Lions, Peterson will reunite with Darrell Bevell, Detroit’s offensive coordinator who served in the same capacity with the Vikings during Peterson’s first four years in Minnesota (when he piled up four Pro Bowl nods and two First Team All-Pro selections). As Peterson told Anderson, “[the Lions are] giving me an opportunity to play. I know Coach Bevell from my days in Minnesota. Ultimately I feel comfortable going there and helping them to get better.”

Peterson, 35, has rushed for 14,216 yards, putting him roughly 1,000 yards behind Barry Sanders for fourth on the NFL’s all-time career list. He might not be the player he once was, but he did average a solid 4.2 yards per carry over the 2018-19 campaigns with Washington. Between him, Johnson, and Swift, the Lions should be able to improve upon the 103.1 rushing yards per game they mustered in 2019, which put them near the bottom third of the league.

Jadeveon Clowney To Sign With Titans

September 6th, 2020 at 7:51am CST by Rory Parks

Just a few days before the start of the 2020 regular season, Jadeveon Clowney finally has a new home. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Clowney is signing a one-year deal with the Titans that is worth at least $12MM and that will max out at $15MM (Twitter link).

Though Clowney’s name has been a prominent part of the NFL news cycle all offseason, his market really started to pick up within the past week or so. It was reported at the end of last month that the Ravens had emerged as the frontrunners for his services, and then we learned that the Titans and Saints were pushing to sign him. The Seahawks and Browns were among the other clubs that expressed legitimate interest during Clowney’s lengthy stay on the market.

According to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com — who first reported last night that Clowney was planning to sign with Tennessee — the Saints’ offer came in about $2MM lower than the Titans’ proposal (Twitter link). Dan Graziano of ESPN.com adds (via Twitter) that New Orleans really wanted to get a deal done and even talked to veterans already on the roster about reworking their contracts to create cap room. Graziano says Seattle continued to monitor the situation but ultimately felt that a $12MM minimum payout was too rich (Twitter link). And per Albert Breer of SI.com, Clowney wanted to sign with Baltimore, but the Ravens were perhaps more lukewarm on the idea than was reported (Twitter link).

As opposed to most of the other teams that were connected to Clowney, the Titans have been involved in the process all along. They extended an offer months ago and never stopped their pursuit. Given the presence of head coach Mike Vrabel — the Texans’ LB coach and defensive coordinator during Clowney’s first four years in Houston — and Tennessee’s relative proximity to Clowney’s South Carolina home, the Titans always felt like a logical fit.

Clowney, 27, is not without his detractors. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2014 draft battled injuries in the early part of his career, and he underwent core muscle surgery this offseason. For months, teams could not bring him into their facilities to evaluate him due to COVID-19 restrictions, and (fair or not) it seems that health concerns will always be a part of his resume.

There is also the issue of his lack of sack production to consider. Clowney has never posted double-digit sacks in a season, and he mustered just three with the Seahawks last season. On the other hand, Clowney supporters will point to his ability to disrupt a passing game even without gaudy sack totals, and he can be a menace against the run as well. He earned three consecutive Pro Bowl nods from 2016-18, and the Titans hope his familiarity with Vrabel’s defense will help him return to that level of play.

It may take Clowney and fellow free agent acquisition Vic Beasley a week or two to get fully up to speed. But once they do, they will team with Harold Landry and Jeffery Simmons to form the foundation of an intriguing front seven, one that could certainly help the Titans get back to the postseason.

Clowney did not get the massive multi-year contract with a $20MM AAV that he was seeking when free agency opened, but he will have a good chance to improve his stock with the Titans. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Titans have agreed that they will not use the franchise tag on Clowney next offseason. That same provision was worked into his Seahawks deal after he was traded to Seattle last year and may have ultimately cost him several million dollars, but he is clearly willing to bet on his ability to land a long-term pact with significant guarantees. With the 2021 salary cap expected to decrease, though, even a career-best showing this year might not be enough to get him that type of deal next offseason.

49ers Cut Dion Jordan, Kevin White

September 5th, 2020 at 8:31pm CST by Zachary Links

On Saturday, the 49ers put a pair of former first-round notables on the curb. Defensive end Dion Jordan and Kevin White were dropped from the roster as a part of the club’s 20+ cuts on Saturday. 

Jordan’s NFL career has taken some odd turns, to say the least. After being selected No. 3 overall by the Dolphins, Jordan did little to justify his pre-draft hype. After some underwhelming seasons, missed seasons, and a number of suspensions, Jordan found his way to the Seahawks in 2017. In 2018, he showed some promise as a rotational piece, and he parlayed that into a one-year deal with the Raiders. He hooked on with the Niners in early August, but he didn’t get to stay for long.

White, a former No. 7 overall pick of the Bears, came out of West Virginia with tons of hype. Over the last five years, injuries have limited him to just 14 games. The Niners have been decimated by injuries at wide receiver, but they still didn’t see enough out of White’s ~1 week audition to keep him. For his career, White has 25 catches for 285 yards and zero touchdowns.

Here’s the full rundown of the 49ers’ cuts:

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