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Month: September 2024

Navy To Allow CB Cameron Kinley To Attend Buccaneers Training Camp

July 6th, 2021 at 12:58pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It appears the Navy is reversing course. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will apparently allow a waiver for cornerback Cameron Kinley to sign with the Buccaneers and attend Tampa’s training camp, an official told Lucas Tomlinson of Fox News.

Tomlinson reports that an official announcement from the Pentagon will come soon. Kinley had previously been denied a waiver to delay his service commitment, putting the Naval Academy star’s NFL dream on ice. Kinley said at the time he wasn’t giving up on his pro football dream, and it sounds like he won’t have to wait very long. The defensive back appeared to confirm the news earlier Tuesday, tweeting out ‘God’s Plan.’

“Cameron Kinley is an exceptional young man and a shining example of the type of high-character individuals that make our nation’s military the most elite in the world,” the Buccaneers said in a statement at the time of the initial waiver denial. “We appreciate and support the United States Naval Academy’s position with regards to Cameron’s fulfillment of his post-graduate service commitment and remain hopeful that he will one day have an opportunity to also fulfill his dreams of playing professional football.”

That day appears to be coming shortly. Bucs training camp will open in a little over two weeks, on July 24th. Last season Kinley had 26 tackles, five passes defended, and an interception in eight games.

AFC Rumors: Chiefs, Sutton, Harry, Jaguars

July 6th, 2021 at 11:48am CST by Sam Robinson

Following Super Bowl LV’s blocking debacle, the Chiefs moved aggressively to bolster their offensive line. In addition to trading for Orlando Brown Jr. to play left tackle, Kansas City signed Joe Thuney to play left guard, added Kyle Long out of retirement and drafted Trey Smith in the sixth round. Longtime Chiefs right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is also back after his opt-out season, and the team placed an original-round RFA tender on Andrew Wylie and re-signed veteran Mike Remmers.

Though Wylie finished the season as an overmatched right tackle against Shaquil Barrett, he has started 35 games for the Chiefs over the past three years. But the Chiefs’ new guard glut now has the former UDFA on the roster bubble, according to Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. Wylie’s best hope is a backup gig, with Teicher adding that it is Smith who is battling Duvernay-Tardif for the Chiefs’ starting right guard job. A blood clot issue hampered Smith at Tennessee, but he bounced back to earn first-team All-SEC acclaim at guard in 2019 and ’20. Smith’s past medical issue damaged his draft stock, but the Chiefs appear to be considering starting two rookies — Smith and second-round center Creed Humphrey — this season.

Here is the latest from around the AFC:

Chris Ballard On Colts’ Free Agency Blueprint, Wide Receiver Situation

July 6th, 2021 at 10:36am CST by Sam Robinson

The Colts’ wide receiver outlook has received some attention this offseason. Although the team re-signed longtime starter T.Y. Hilton, questions about this crew’s capabilities remain as yet another new starting quarterback arrives.

Indianapolis did not change up its receiver depth chart much this offseason. Hilton, former second-round picks Michael Pittman Jr. and Parris Campbell and ex-UDFA Zach Pascal remain the likely top four among this group. The Colts did not draft a wideout until Round 7, and that pick became a Division III product (Mike Strachan). Ballard admitted this corps may lack a true No. 1 target, but the Colts remain confident in their aerial producers.

“They’re a talented group,” Ballard said during an appearance on The Athletic Football Show with Robert Mays (via the Indianapolis Star). “Is there a guy that, you know, you just line up and go, ‘Holy crap man, how are we gonna stop this guy?’ Maybe not, but they are really damn good players, and T.Y. Hilton can still play. He can still play.”

Pittman, the 34th overall pick in 2020, enjoyed quality moments in a rookie season that included 40 receptions for 503 yards. Pascal has been needed to work as a starter due to Hilton and Campbell’s injuries, but the Colts kept the Old Dominion alum via second-round RFA tender in March. Hilton, 31, missed six games in 2019 and has averaged 50.1 and 50.8 yards per game in the past two seasons — the lowest figures of his career.

Campbell represents a wild card here. Various maladies have thrown the Ohio State product’s career off course. He missed 14 games last season because of a knee injury. That followed a rookie season in which the slot player suffered a broken hand, a broken foot and dealt with a sports hernia. He is back to 100% now but certainly has a lot to prove after missing 23 games over his first two seasons.

“I’m betting on Michael Pittman, who I think’s got a chance to be really good,” Ballard said. “Everybody just ignores Zach Pascal, but all he’s done is catch touchdowns over the last two years. And then getting Parris Campbell back is a big bonus and he’s looked great during the offseason. We think we’re a little better than other people do.”

Although the Colts wooed Hilton back despite the Ravens’ interest, their offer (one year, $8MM) came in under Baltimore’s. This has been a refrain under Ballard, who has not been especially aggressive in free agency during his five offseasons as Colts GM. The Colts have consistently operated with the most or close to the most salary cap space under Ballard but have not outbid other teams for marquee free agents. Though, the team did make impact trades over the past two years — for DeForest Buckner and Carson Wentz — that reshaped its outlook.

“We’ve got good players out of free agency, and we’ve been successful,” Ballard said. “We’re just not the biggest fans of right out the gate free agency where you’re paying B players A-plus money, which is gonna affect down the line. … There’s a cost to that.”

Chunks of the cap space the Colts have hoarded by skipping — the Philip Rivers signing notwithstanding — the free agency first waves in recent years will likely go toward extensions for draft picks. The Colts are negotiating with right tackle Braden Smith and plan to extend All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard. Quenton Nelson is signed through 2022, but the former No. 6 overall pick is 3-for-3 in first-team All-Pro appearances. He will be in line to raise the guard salary ceiling — likely next year.

Latest On Seahawks, Aldon Smith

July 6th, 2021 at 9:45am CST by Sam Robinson

After attempting to trade for Aldon Smith ahead of last year’s deadline, the Seahawks signed him in April. The talented pass rusher, however, has not enjoyed a smooth offseason in Seattle.

In addition to being booked on a battery charge less than a week after agreeing to terms with the Seahawks, Smith did not participate in Seattle’s offseason program. The 31-year-old defensive end did not view himself as being in sufficient shape to participate, and Brady Henderson of ESPN.com notes the Seahawks gave him permission to skip minicamp. Smith has not been arraigned for the incident in New Orleans.

Given the off-field issues that sidetracked Smith’s career during his time with the 49ers and Raiders, the minicamp absence — excused or not — should not provide a good sign regarding the embattled pass rusher’s status with his new team. The former All-Pro edge defender should not be considered a lock to make the Seahawks’ 53-man roster, with Henderson adding the Seahawks view Smith as a luxury rather than a player they will count on this season.

Smith signed a one-year deal worth $1.12MM, with just $137K guaranteed, and his contract came during an offseason in which the Seahawks were busy on their defensive front. Seattle re-signed Carlos Dunlap and Benson Mayowa and added Kerry Hyder after his productive 49ers season. The team also has former first-round pick L.J. Collier at defensive end. While Smith’s ceiling may still be higher than some of his new D-line teammates’, a rocky offseason may well work against him.

Smith did play 16 games with the Cowboys last season, recording five sacks and 14 quarterback hits, and started throughout despite missing four full seasons due to a suspension. But his status with the Seahawks will be worth monitoring during the leadup to the regular season.

Extension Candidate: Wyatt Teller

July 5th, 2021 at 10:09pm CST by Rory Parks

Just before the start of the 2019 season, the Browns acquired guard Wyatt Teller from Buffalo. The Bills had selected Teller in the fifth round of the 2018 draft, but they deemed him expendable just a year later. Cleveland was in need of offensive line depth, so for the fairly modest price of a fifth- and sixth-round draft pick, the John Dorsey-led Browns acquired the Virginia Tech product, who in 2020 emerged from relative obscurity to become the best guard in the league per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. Dorsey might be gone, but he did leave the Browns with a few lovely parting gifts.

With three years of service time under his belt, Teller is now extension-eligible, and we recently heard that current GM Andrew Berry has a new contract for the 26-year-old on the agenda. Of course, long-term deals for quarterback Baker Mayfield, running back Nick Chubb, and cornerback Denzel Ward are also on the docket, so it’s uncertain when (or even if) a Teller deal might get done.

As with virtually all big-money contracts, as Teller’s promises to be, there are a couple of issues that need to be resolved. For one, Teller was not particularly impressive in 2019, his first year in Cleveland. To be fair, the offense as a whole underperformed under the stewardship of since-deposed head coach Freddie Kitchens, so Teller’s excellence in new HC Kevin Stefanski’s wide-zone scheme is probably a better indicator of how he will fare moving forward.

Another potential sticking point is the fact that, as good as he was in 2020, Teller missed five full contests and most of a sixth due to injury. Berry & Co. might want to see Teller sustain a certain level of performance for at least a full season’s worth of games before authorizing a massive extension (which is also rumored to be the front office’s mindset with respect to Mayfield). It is also fair to wonder whether the presence of center J.C. Tretter (PFF’s second-best pivot in 2020) to Teller’s left and right tackle Jack Conklin (PFF’s 10th-best tackle) to his right makes Teller look better than he actually is.

As of today, Spotrac estimates Teller’s market value to be roughly $12MM per year. That would position him as the fifth-highest-paid guard in football, behind Joe Thuney, Brandon Brooks, Zack Martin, and Andrew Norwell. For purposes of this exercise, we’re excluding Washington’s Brandon Scherff, who is presently attached to his second franchise tender and whose $18MM+ salary for 2021 might be a bit of an outlier. However, if Scherff and the WFT were to agree to an extension, it would almost certainly come with an AAV at least as high as Thuney’s $16MM, thereby making Teller’s estimated market value of $12MM/year the sixth-highest mark in the league.

In light of the above-referenced concerns, Berry could, with a straight face, offer a four-year deal to Teller worth around $48MM and including about $30MM in practical guarantees. But if Teller is anything like his quarterback, he will be willing to bet on himself and will demand something that puts him closer to the top of the guard market.

And it would not be surprising to see the Browns go there. After all, though Mayfield may be good enough to bring a championship to Cleveland with the right pieces around him, he does not appear to be the type of passer that can overcome the deficiencies of a weak O-line. Right now, the Browns have arguably the best offensive front in the league, and Berry would surely be loathe to let one of that unit’s best assets walk away. That is especially true when considering how a good line can make the two-headed rushing tandem of Chubb and Kareem Hunt even more imposing than it already is, and given that Teller is especially adept at run-blocking.

Just yesterday, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com confirmed that the Browns will try to extend Teller, although she did not offer any indication that contract talks had advanced particularly far. With so many other high-profile talents in line for lucrative extensions, it’s hard to determine exactly how Berry is triaging the situation, but Teller is certainly a player that other clubs are hoping makes it to free agency in 2022. 

No Timetable For Bud Dupree’s Return

July 5th, 2021 at 9:07pm CST by Rory Parks

The Titans were among the worst teams in the league in terms of pressuring opposing quarterbacks in 2020, and to address those concerns, the team made an aggressive push for former Steelers edge defender Bud Dupree. Dupree ultimately signed a five-year, $82MM pact with Tennessee, a deal that included $34MM in guaranteed money and that raised a few eyebrows throughout the league.

After all, Dupree suffered an ACL tear in December that cut short his 2020 campaign and left his status for the upcoming season a little uncertain. Obviously, the Titans would not have made the kind of commitment they did if they were overly concerned about his prognosis, but we haven’t heard much news of any kind since he put pen to paper.

In an interview on the NFL Network today (h/t Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk), Dupree discussed the work he’s putting in, but he was unable to say when he might join his new teammates on the field.

“Just training hard every day right now, man,” he said. “ACL recovery, rehab, I mean, it’s been one of the most progress [sic] things I have dealt with so far. Each week you see different levels of progress. You see different things change in your body. So I’m working hard to be back as soon as I can, but that’s up to the coaching staff at the end of the day, like when they want me to be on the field and how comfortable they feel with me coming off the injury.”

Prior to the ACL tear, Dupree posted eight sacks in just 11 games, putting him on pace to match the 11.5 sacks he accumulated over a full season of work in 2019. Pro Football Focus assigned him a mediocre 60.2 overall grade last year, but he scored a much higher 77.7 mark in his 2019 breakout, which positioned him as the 23rd-best edge defender out of 104 qualifiers. If the Titans can get a little more out of their pass rush this season — and a healthy Dupree will go a long way towards that goal — they will be a threat to make a deep postseason run.

NFC Notes: Cowboys, Giants, Toney, Bears

July 5th, 2021 at 7:47pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Most of the talk about Cowboys quarterbacks this offseason has understandably revolved around Dak Prescott, his new contract, and his comeback from a devastating ankle injury. But flying a bit under the radar is the team’s unsettled backup QB situation. Last year the team had an established veteran backup in Andy Dalton, who ended up becoming the starter when Prescott went down. Dalton is off in Chicago now, leaving Dallas with very little on the depth chart. The team currently has only Garrett Gilbert, Cooper Rush, and Ben DiNucci behind Prescott.

Rush has thrown three career passes, and DiNucci (a 2020 seventh-rounder) and Gilbert have each made one start. That’s led to some speculation the Cowboys could add a veteran backup. Barring a bigger name veteran addition, Gilbert is currently the “favorite” to backup Prescott in 2021, Rob Phillips of the team’s official site writes. Phillips frames it as a battle between Gilbert and Rush without even mentioning DiNucci, who was disastrous in his lone 2020 start in primetime against the Eagles. Gilbert almost led Dallas to an upset victory over the Steelers in his one start last year, and was a star in the ill-fated AAF.

Here’s more from around the NFC as we kickoff the new week and continue to await training camps:

  • Elsewhere in the NFC East, it sounds like the Giants are scheming up various ways to get Kadarius Toney involved as a rookie. New York has Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard, and Darius Slayton already at receiver, so it might be hard for the 20th overall pick of this past draft to get heavy targets right away. That doesn’t mean Toney won’t get touches. The Giants are “motivated to get the ball in his hands, whether it’s out of the backfield, on jet sweeps, screen passes or maybe in the Wildcat formation,” Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com writes. Raanan writes they want him to be a year-one factor, and that “they believe the best way to make that happen is to tap into his versatility.” In other words, use him as a gadget player. The Florida product should be fun to watch.
  • Heading down to the NFC South, Buccaneers receiver Antonio Brown may have just had his probation terminated early to close his previous criminal case, but he still has civil case headaches to deal with. In addition to a lawsuit from a truck driver alleging assault that came in mid-May, Brown was apparently hit with another lawsuit later that month. This time, it’s from a sports marketing company alleging that Brown didn’t pay them commission on $2MM in earnings they got him, Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times reports. The company, KCB Marketing, is seeking over $100K in damages.

Eddie Goldman May Not Return To Bears This Year?

July 5th, 2021 at 6:07pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Eddie Goldman saga might not have a happy ending for Bears fans. The veteran defensive tackle opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19, but Chicago coaches said back in February they were expecting him back for 2021.

Then Goldman skipped the teams voluntary offseason program and their mandatory minicamp. For no-showing the minicamp he racked up a $93K fine. At minicamp Bears head coach Matt Nagy said that the team still expected him to be “rocking and rolling there at training camp,” but Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune says not so fast.

It’s now a “legitimate question,” as to whether or not Goldman will return to the Bears, Biggs writes. He adds that one league source “suggested Goldman could be weighing retirement.” He does also note that Bears linebacker backed Nagy up by expressing confidence Goldman would be at training camp as well, so who know.

Either way, it’s an interesting situation to keep an eye on. Goldman, the 2015 second-round pick who signed a four-year, $42MM extension with Chicago back in 2018, is a key part of the team’s run defense when on the field. He started at least 15 games in three straight seasons from 2016-18. The Florida State product has also shown some flashes as a pass-rusher up the middle, racking up 12.5 sacks in 67 career games.

Delanie Walker On Free Agency, Comeback

July 5th, 2021 at 3:48pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Delanie Walker sat out the 2020 season, and he played in only eight games between 2018-19 due to injuries. But the veteran tight end is intent on coming back for the 2021 campaign, despite the fact that he’ll turn 37 in August.

Appearing on a recent episode of Turron Davenport’s podcast, Walker peeled back the curtain on the process and his hopes for his comeback, via Grant Gordon of NFL.com. He had a workout with the 49ers about a month ago, but nothing came of it. “Right now, I couldn’t tell you who I will be playing for or what teams are looking at me,” Walker said. “They talk to me, but at the end of the day, I feel like they think the ankle is a problem and my age. Teams are really not trying to give me a good deal, I feel like.”

Walker said he feels good physically, although he did admit he can’t say for sure how he’d hold up to contact. “I feel like the same Delanie Walker two years ago. But again, you know, I’m a realist. I won’t sit here and be like, ‘Oh, shoot, I can out there and play.’ I can go out there and play, but would I take a hit, would that be a problem? I do not know. I think that’s a concern teams have.” He did add “I feel like the ankle will hold up.”

For now he said he’s just focused on keeping in great shape, and he expressed confidence that he’ll get his opportunity in training camp. “I know that opportunity gonna come where someone’s gonna need a tight end for training camp. And that’s where my opportunity’s gonna come.”

As for a potential landing spot, he unsurprisingly wants to go to a winner. “I feel like I need to get a Super Bowl ring, so my objective is really to try to go to a team that’s a contender. But it is the NFL, you never know what team can be a contender, so my options are open.” 

We heard the Patriots and Ravens were interested last August before he elected to sit out the season and heal up. New England is probably set at tight end after adding Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith this offseason, but perhaps Baltimore could still be interested as an option behind Mark Andrews. It’s been a few years now, but Walker was a Pro Bowler in three straight seasons from 2015-17.d

Bengals Rookie Darius Hodge Arrested

July 5th, 2021 at 1:52pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

One new member of the Bengals didn’t have the best Fourth of July. Rookie defensive end Darius Hodge was arrested on the holiday, per WRAL 5 in North Carolina.

Unfortunately the story is light on details, but they do report that the arrest was for an alleged assault all the way back in 2019. Hodge was “charged for hitting a man repeatedly,” but that’s about all they have at the moment. On the surface it doesn’t sound like anything overly serious, but this certainly won’t help the undrafted free agent’s chances of making the team.

The Marshall product had nine tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in 10 games last year. He was part of a relatively small Bengals UDFA class, and Cincy could use some edge rushing help, so he seemed to have a decent shot initially.

Working in his favor is the fact that this alleged incident happened before his NFL career started, so he won’t be subject to league discipline for it.

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