HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Chiefs Re-Sign Deandre Baker

February 10th, 2021 at 8:50am CST by Zachary Links

The Chiefs have re-signed Deandre Baker for the 2021 season, per a club announcement. The cornerback joined the Chiefs on a practice squad deal in November, shortly after the Broward County State Attorney’s Office dropped armed robbery charges against him. 

Baker struggled as a first-round rookie with the Giants, allowing a 116.2 passer rating. Then, heading into his second year, Baker was arrested on multiple felony charges. Cops alleged that Baker orchestrated a robbery at gunpoint with Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar as his accomplice. Then, after a number of twists and turns — including payoff allegations against one-time Dunbar attorney Michael Grieco — the charges were dropped.

After a month on the taxi squad, Baker got called up to the varsity squad for a couple of games. Now, he’ll work to make the 53-man cut in KC.

In addition to Baker, the Chiefs announced the following futures deals:

Ravens Re-Sign Eric Tomlinson

February 10th, 2021 at 8:39am CST by Zachary Links

The Ravens have agreed to a new deal with Eric Tomlinson, as ESPN.com’s Field Yates tweets. The tight end will return on a one-year, $1.015MM deal with $125K guaranteed.

Tomlinson saw time in six games this season, plus two playoff games. He stepped up to help the Ravens replace Nick Boyle‘s blocking post-knee injury, though he couldn’t match the offensive production — he was targeted just once and did not record a reception.

“We’ll look at personnel, we’ll look at free agency, we’ll look at the draft, and certainly we’re very much a tight end-centric offense,” GM Eric DeCosta said recently (via the team website). “So, if there is a tight end there available in the draft, if somebody else happens to fall to us in free agency, we would certainly look at that as a possibility. We know that Greg can take those tight ends and really go to the lab and find some ways to use these guys to make us more productive on offense.”

Tomlinson, 29 in April, is with the seventh team of his NFL career. Now, he has some assurance that he’ll be able to stay in the same place for 2021.

Raiders QB Marcus Mariota Generating Trade Interest

February 9th, 2021 at 8:33pm CST by Ben Levine

Derek Carr isn’t the only Raiders quarterback who’s generating trade interest. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that teams have “legitimate and real” trade interest in backup Marcus Mariota.

[RELATED: Raiders Open To Derek Carr Trade?]

Mariota joined the Raiders last offseason on a two-year, $17.6MM deal. He had an IR stint in September and October, and he didn’t leave the bench until the Raiders’ Week 15 loss to the Chargers. Mariota completed 17 of his 28 pass attempts for 226 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in that game, and he added another score and 88 yards on the ground. Rapoport says that singular performance caught the eyes of other teams, with some organizations believing that Mariota could have a similar career path as Ryan Tannehill (who, of course, resuscitated his career after replacing Mariota in Tennessee).

Mariota showed glimpses of promise during his five seasons in Tennessee, but he obviously disappointed considering his second-overall-pick pedigree. The quarterback went 18-16 during his final three seasons with the Titans, but he also had only 31 touchdowns vs 25 interceptions.

We learned earlier this week that teams had inquired on Carr, and reports indicated that the Raiders were willing to listen to offers on their starting quarterback. Rapoport clarifies that while the Raiders wouldn’t hang up the phone on any team, they’re not eager to move on from the 29-year-old, and a deal for Carr would be “incredibly expensive.”

Russell Wilson Addresses Trade Rumors, Offensive Line Issues

February 9th, 2021 at 6:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

A report indicating Russell Wilson was dissatisfied with the Seahawks’ offensive line performance led to the quarterback essentially confirming such a stance. The superstar passer said Tuesday he is indeed “frustrated with getting hit too much,” via ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson (on Twitter).

Wilson has been sacked 394 times in his career, having gone down more than 40 times in every season except his 2012 rookie campaign. He has taken at least 47 in each of the past three seasons. His 8.33% career sack rate is much higher than most of his peers. Wilson took five sacks in Seattle’s wild-card loss to the Rams, a game in which he completed just 11 of 27 passes.

While sacks are not all on teams’ offensive lines, the Seahawks have not opted to expend tremendous resources to fortify this position in recent years. In 2020, the team did well by drafting third-round guard Damien Lewis. But beyond he and 35-year-old left tackle Duane Brown, not much is solidified on Seattle’s front.

“I’ve definitely been hit. I’ve been sacked almost 400 times. We got to get better,” Wilson said, via The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar (Twitter link). “I got to find ways to get better, too. Just continue to try and find that. As we continue to go along the process and I think about my career wand what I want to be able to do, it always starts up front, offensively and defensively.”

The Seahawks gave Wilson a second extension in April 2019, and his $35MM-per-year contract still ranks third in the league. The team has shut down any trade overtures and included Wilson in its search for a new offensive coordinator — a process that will led ex-Rams assistant Shane Waldron to Seattle. Armed with a no-trade clause, Wilson said during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show he was not sure if he was available in a trade (video link) but believes the team has “definitely” gotten calls on him.

Wilson, whose “Go Hawks” phrase has become his signature interview-ender, reiterated his enthusiasm for playing in Seattle. But it certainly sounds like he and his camp are applying pressure on the team to make a bigger commitment to the offensive line going into its quarterback’s age-33 season.

“I love playing for the (Seahawks). I’ve loved it for years and lay it on the line every game, and I’m dedicated to that,” Wilson said, adding that “it’s frustrating” watching Super Bowls. “… If you ask me about the trust factor of it all, I’ve always put my trust in the Seahawks trying to do whatever it takes to win. Hopefully that will continue. That’s a key part. Part of that is how we go about the protection part of it and figuring those little things out like that.”

After going to two Super Bowls during Wilson’s rookie-contract years, the Seahawks have not been back to the NFC championship round since giving their quarterback his first extension in 2015. The team has parted ways with its Legion of Boom secondary, and Bobby Wagner is the only member of those Super Bowl defenses under contract in 2021. Wilson is under contract through the 2023 season.

Matt Judon: Ravens Return Would Have To Line Up Perfectly

February 9th, 2021 at 5:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

For the second straight year, Matt Judon is set to be a free agent. The Ravens kept the standout edge rusher off the market last year by franchise-tagging him, but his tag price will go up this year and do so as the salary cap plummets. That will create issues for most teams considering a tag.

Judon, 28, was adamant last year he preferred to stay in Baltimore. When asked Tuesday about his hopes of returning to the Ravens, the five-year veteran was more open to exploring a path elsewhere.

“I’d love to be back in Baltimore. I haven’t been nowhere else, so I’d love to be back in Baltimore,” Judon said during an interview with Adam Schein of CBS Sports (video link). “Just, it’s gotta line up. It’s gotta be perfect, and we’ve gotta make it work.

“If I’m in Baltimore I won’t be sad. Trust me, I love it here. But if not, I’ll still love the city and it’ll be, I think, exciting and fun to play for a new organization and figure out what other teams are like out there.”

The Ravens have both Judon and Yannick Ngakoue, whom the Jaguars tagged before sending him to the Vikings (who then dealt him to Baltimore), set to be free agents. While the Ravens have let a few higher-end pass rushers walk in recent years, they do not have much under contract at outside linebacker. Pernell McPhee and Tyus Bowser are free agents-to-be as well.

Judon has been connected to wanting a deal that pays north of $20MM annually. With his franchise tag set to come in slightly north of $20MM, that number makes sense. However, the cap is expected to decline from $198MM to around $180MM. That will make using tags far more difficult. Judon joins fellow 2020 tag recipients Ngakoue, Shaquil Barrett and Bud Dupree as edge rushers set to hit the market. That list also includes Leonard Floyd, Carl Lawson, Trey Hendrickson and Haason Reddick.

A former fifth-round pick, Judon has made back-to-back Pro Bowls. His sack and quarterback hit numbers dropped in 2020, finishing at six and 21, respectively, after he set career-high marks in 2019 (9.5, 33). Judon, however, missed two games after contracting COVID-19. Should the Ravens allow Judon to hit the market, he will have plenty of suitors.

Lions To Add Antwaan Randle El To Staff

February 9th, 2021 at 4:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Antwaan Randle El made his initial foray into NFL coaching with the Buccaneers, and the former wide receiver will collect a Super Bowl ring for his role on Bruce Arians‘ staff. He will also land another opportunity.

The former Steelers and Washington wideout will join Dan Campbell‘s staff as Lions receivers coach, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Randle El, 41, spent two seasons as a Bucs offensive assistant after previously coaching high school basketball in Virginia.

Randle El will join a Lions staff that houses longtime NFLers Campbell, OC Anthony Lynn, DC Aaron Glenn, QBs coach Mark Brunell and running backs coach Duce Staley. This will be Randle El’s first NFL position coaching gig.

A standout quarterback at Indiana, Randle El spent his first four NFL seasons with the Steelers. His signature NFL moment took place in Detroit. Randle El threw a pinpoint 43-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward in the Steelers’ victory over the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. After four seasons in Washington, Randle El returned to Pittsburgh and closed out his career on a Steelers team that journeyed to Super Bowl XLV.

Giants QB Alex Tanney To Retire

February 9th, 2021 at 3:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite agreeing to a reserve/futures contract with the Giants last month, Alex Tanney will step away from the game. The veteran reserve quarterback announced his retirement Tuesday.

Although Tanney, 33, did not end up seeing much game work during his career, he hung around for nine NFL seasons. The Division III product’s run included time with the Chiefs, Cowboys, Browns, Buccaneers, Titans, Bills, Colts and Giants.

Originally a 2012 UDFA with the Chiefs, after compiling a trick-shot highlight reel as a prospect, Tanney spent the past three seasons with the Giants. Initially signing with New York in May 2018, Tanney spent time with the team during the Pat Shurmur and Joe Judge regimes.

The Giants exercised his option in March of 2020 but ended up cutting him ahead of the regular season. However, the Monmouth (Ill.) alum made his way back to the team in early December, when Daniel Jones battled injuries, and stuck around until season’s end.

Tanney did not take many game snaps in his career but did complete 11 of the 15 passes he threw. Fourteen of those throws came in a Week 17 game with the 2015 Titans, with whom he threw his only career touchdown pass — a 5-yarder to Dorial Green-Beckham.

Russell Wilson Had Input On OC Hire, Wasn’t Happy With Earlier Candidates

February 9th, 2021 at 2:43pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Russell Wilson raised a lot of eyebrows with his comments on The Dan Patrick Show earlier where he said he didn’t like getting hit as often as he has been, and that he’d like to be more involved in personnel decisions. There was also a sourced report that Wilson has grown frustrated with the Seahawks’ inability to build an offensive line around him.

While Wilson certainly didn’t do anything to tamp down the recent speculation on Patrick’s show, it does sound like he had the input he’s seeking on at least one big recent decision. Wilson was “involved in the hire” of Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter video link). Interestingly, it sounds like Wilson may not have initially been happy with the search, which was known to be wide-ranging.

Rapoport says there were “some choices kind of midway through he wasn’t pleased with,” which will be fun to speculate about. It’s impossible to say for sure who Wilson was concerned about, but there were some controversial big names thrown out in the initial search after the firing of Brian Schottenheimer.

Polarizing figures like Adam Gase reportedly spoke with Seattle brass about the OC opening. In the end though, it sounds like Wilson got his guy in the former Sean McVay protege. That would seem to indicate the Seahawks are intent on keeping Wilson content, and have no intention of going the Texans/Deshaun Watson route of freezing out.

Of course, Rapsheet points out that all this comes against the backdrop of the recent report that teams had inquired about trading for Wilson. While he emphasizes those trade advances were rebuffed by Seattle, Rapoport also adds that it’s “noteworthy” that teams “thought there might be something there, that maybe they could get him.” We’ll continue to monitor the situation.

Vikings Sign K Greg Joseph

February 9th, 2021 at 1:46pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The kicking game was an issue for the Vikings this season, and they’re getting out ahead of the matter by bringing in a veteran early. Minnesota is signing kicker Greg Joseph, his agent Brent Tessler announced on Twitter.

Since Joseph finished the season on the Buccaneers’ practice squad and not active roster, he doesn’t have to wait until March to sign like everybody else. Undrafted out of Florida Atlantic in 2018, he originally signed with the Dolphins. After getting cut by Miami he signed with the Browns, and spent the last 14 weeks of the 2018 season as Cleveland’s kicker. In those 14 games he went 17 of 20 on field goal attempts and 25 of 29 on extra points.

He lost the job the following training camp, spent some time on the Panthers’ practice squad, and then was signed by the Titans late in the year. He was their kicker for the final couple of regular season games as well as their playoff run to the AFC Championship Game.

He didn’t appear in a game for Tampa this year, but earned a Super Bowl ring nonetheless. The Vikings had Dan Bailey as their kicker this past season, and he was a disaster at times. He had a few meltdown games, including one against none other than the Bucs where he missed four kicks. Minnesota opted not to cut him during the season, but it was a foregone conclusion that he’d face some competition in 2021.

The Vikings guaranteed a portion of Joseph’s salary, while Bailey has $1.8MM that becomes fully guaranteed on March 19th, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. As such, it wouldn’t be surprising if Bailey doesn’t even make it to camp and gets cut loose in the next couple of weeks here.

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