HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Chiefs Have Talked Trades For OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

August 30th, 2021 at 4:40pm CST by Ben Levine

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif could be on the trade block. The Chiefs have received calls on the offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, reports Albert Breer of MMQB. Complicating a trade is the fact that Duvernay-Tardif has a no-trade clause, making it “more likely” that he’ll remain on Kansas City’s roster.

Although he was a full-time starter for the Chiefs from 2015-19, Duvernay-Tardif wasn’t guaranteed his old job back as the Chiefs focused on revamping their offensive line this past offseason. While the lineman started 14 games for Kansas City in 2019, he sat out the 2020 campaign as he helped fight COVID-19. The 30-year-old also suffered a broken bone in his hand earlier this month, and his recovery was going to cut it close for the start of the season.

After watching Patrick Mahomes run for his life in the Super Bowl against the Bucs’ ferocious pass-rush, the Chiefs made it a priority to overhaul their O-line. They traded for tackle Orlando Brown Jr., drafted center Creed Humphrey in the second-round, and signed veteran guards Austin Blythe and Kyle Long. Duvernay-Tardif was battling with sixth-round pick Trey Smith for the starting right guard gig, a job that the rookie likely secured following the veteran’s hand injury.

Still, considering Duvernay-Tardif’s starting experience, it’s not a surprise that teams would have interest in him. The former sixth-round pick has started 57 of his 60 games since entering the NFL in 2014.

Ravens Activate Nick Boyle From PUP List

August 30th, 2021 at 4:37pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Ravens have dealt with some tough injury breaks recently, most notably to running back J.K. Dobbins and receiver Rashod Bateman, but now they’re finally getting some better news on the health front.

Baltimore has activated tight end Nick Boyle from the PUP list, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Yates notes that Boyle is still uncertain to play Week 1, but this move means the Ravens anticipate him getting back before Week 7 since he would’ve had to miss the first six games had he started the year on the PUP list.

A fifth-round pick back in 2015, Boyle has spent his entire career with the Ravens. He’s never played a huge role on offense, but the team clearly values him. Back in January they gave him a two-year extension worth $13MM with $10.5MM guaranteed to keep him locked up through the 2023 campaign.

The Delaware product is always utilized heavily as a blocker in the Ravens’ run-first offense, but he has shown an ability to snag a few passes in the past. His best season as a receiver was in 2019, when he had 31 catches for 321 yards and two touchdowns. Of course, Mark Andrews is the top receiving option at tight end for Baltimore.

Jets Working Out DE Dion Jordan

August 30th, 2021 at 4:36pm CST by Sam Robinson

A Robert Saleh–Dion Jordan reunion could be in the cards. The Jets are working out the former top-five pick, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

While perhaps more known for his draft status and suspension history, Jordan spent the 2020 season with the 49ers. The former Dolphins draftee played 13 games as a rotational cog on Saleh’s defensive line last season, one that featured some notable injuries on San Francisco’s defensive front.

This marks Jordan’s second workout over the past month and change. He auditioned for the Ravens in July. While unavailability has marred Jordan’s career, he has played in 32 games for three different teams — the 49ers, Raiders and Seahawks — over the past three years. Playing 36% of San Francisco’s defensive snaps last season, Jordan registered three sacks.

The Jets already made a move to address their reeling edge rusher corps, sending a sixth-round pick to the Texans for Shaq Lawson. Jordan would qualify as additional depth, but his history with Saleh would help make for a quick assimilation.

Ravens Cut Michael Schofield

August 30th, 2021 at 3:37pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

As the Ravens start to cut their roster down to 53, one established veteran found himself on the chopping block. Baltimore terminated the contract of offensive lineman Michael Schofield, the team announced Monday.

As a vested veteran Schofield will now become a free agent who can sign with any team rather than being subjected to waivers. Although it was a formality, the team also officially placed starting running back J.K. Dobbins on injured reserve, ending his 2021 season before it could start.

Schofield originally entered the league as a third-round pick of the Broncos back in 2014. After missing his rookie year he started 29 games at tackle and guard for Denver over the following two seasons, and won Super Bowl 50 with the team. Despite his large contributions he found himself waived just before the start of the 2017 season, and was quickly scooped up by the Chargers.

He ended up starting all 32 games for Los Angeles at guard between 2018-19. He signed with the Panthers as a free agent last offseason, and started three games for Carolina in 2020. Still only 30 and with 69 career starts under his belt as well as some positional versatility, he should be able to find a new home at some point.

Chargers Cut 10 Players

August 30th, 2021 at 3:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Chargers are among the teams making early cuts Monday. Teams have until 3pm CT Tuesday to trim their rosters down to 53 players. The Bolts parted ways with 10. In addition to cutting linebacker Jessie Lemonier, here are the players Los Angeles is waiving:

None of these players has reached vested-veteran status, so the contingent will head to the wire. Mazza and St. Louis will revert to the Chargers’ IR list — with injury settlements likely — if they pass through waivers. Some of these players figure to be candidates to land on the Bolts’ practice squad. Teams can begin making those additions later this week, after waiver claims are processed.

Cardinals Place CB Darqueze Dennard On IR

August 30th, 2021 at 3:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Darqueze Dennard has run into another injury issue, and it will cut his time with the Cardinals short. Arizona is placing the veteran cornerback on IR, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

Although teams can bring back players from IR after three weeks, that only applies to players carried through to teams’ 53-man rosters after cutdown day. Since the Cards are sending Dennard to IR now, he cannot play for them this season.

The former Bengals corner has run into some tough injury luck in recent years. A knee issue delayed the start of his 2019 season, when he re-signed with Cincinnati, and the former first-round pick also spent time on the Falcons’ IR list last year with a hamstring malady. Dennard, 29, only landed in Atlanta after a deal with Jacksonville fell through last year. He ended up playing just eight games (six starts) with the 2020 Falcons.

The Cardinals signed Dennard in June, bringing him aboard after not re-signing fellow ex-Bengals first-rounder Dre Kirkpatrick. The Cards also lost Patrick Peterson in free agency. Dennard, Daryl Worley and Malcolm Butler represented the team’s notable veteran additions at the position.

Texans Prepared To Keep Deshaun Watson Inactive For 2021

August 30th, 2021 at 3:01pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

It doesn’t look like a Deshaun Watson trade is imminent, and it certainly doesn’t look like he’ll be playing for the Texans anytime soon. A third, and perhaps most likely, option has now emerged.

Houston is “prepared to have Deshaun Watson on the 53-man roster and inactive every week,” sources told veteran NFL writer Aaron Wilson (Twitter link). That echoes the sentiment from Albert Breer of SI.com, who has some additional details. Notably, Breer reports that “packages involving three first-round picks (and then some) were discussed by interested teams,” before the sexual harassment allegations against Watson came to light.

Breer says, like we’ve heard before, that teams now want to make any draft picks traded for Watson conditional based on his availability to play. Breer writes that he hasn’t “gotten any indication that the Texans are willing to tie their return to those sorts of contingencies,” leading us to the current impasse.

To make it even more firm, Michael Lombardi of The Athletic tweets that Houston “has no intentions of trading Watson” right now, and that the team “turned down a huge offer” from a rival franchise over the summer.

If interested teams and the Texans are both locked in on those positions, which makes perfect sense, Houston holding on to Watson until his off-field issues are resolved would seem to be the logical move.

One reason the Texans might be incentivized to hold out until the offseason would be that they would know the precise value of any 2022 draft picks they were trading for, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network points out (Twitter video link). They wouldn’t have to guess about where their trade partner would end up in the draft order.

On the other hand, Rapsheet also points out that there’s no guarantee the civil (and potentially criminal) proceedings against Watson are wrapped up by the spring either. Even still, it now sounds like the Texans paying Watson $10.54MM to not play for them in 2021 might be the likeliest scenario.

Eagles Activate Landon Dickerson Off NFI

August 30th, 2021 at 1:03pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

A key Eagles rookie appears to be nearing his return. Second-round offensive lineman Landon Dickerson has been activated off the NFI list, the team announced Monday.

It means Dickerson should be ready to make his pro debut sooner rather than later. If he had stayed on the NFI list he would’ve had to miss the first six games of the season, which means the Eagles expect him to be ready before then. Dickerson was a star center at Alabama, and was a unanimous All-American for his work this past season. Also the winner of the Rimington Trophy for the nation’s top center, he unfortunately tore an ACL in the SEC Championship Game.

Without the ACL tear he likely would’ve been a first-round pick, but the Eagles were able to scoop him up at No. 37 because of it. Philly insisted all along that they didn’t view 2021 as a redshirt year for Dickerson, and clearly they meant it.

It’s been reported that the team initially drafted him with intention of moving him to guard, but this summer they reopened the possibility of him playing at center. They of course still have Jason Kelce at the pivot, but he’ll turn 34 in November.

Giants To Trade B.J. Hill To Bengals For Billy Price

August 30th, 2021 at 12:31pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ve got another trade to report! Not too long after the Bills dealt Darryl Johnson to the Panthers, the Giants and Bengals have pulled off an interesting swap. New York has agreed to trade defensive lineman B.J. Hill, head coach Joe Judge announced to the media on Monday.

Right after Judge said Hill would be traded, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweeted that it was to the Bengals for offensive lineman Billy Price. The Bengals will also get a conditional seventh-round pick in the deal, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News notes in a tweet. In a follow-up tweet, Rapoport notes that Price has been a “key name” in trade talks recently, and that the Giants were searching for O-line depth.

Price wasn’t the only Bengals lineman on the block, as Albert Breer of SI.com tweets that Cincy also had discussions about guard Michael Jordan. He adds that the Jaguars joined the Giants as teams calling around about interior offensive line help this week.

A former first-rounder, Price was the 18th overall pick back in 2018. Cincinnati declined his fifth-year option this past offseason, meaning he’ll be a free agent after this season. The Ohio State product never lived up to his draft status, and could benefit from the change in scenery.

He was Cincy’s starter at center as a rookie, then moved to guard and only started eight games in 2019. This past season he was mostly a reserve, only starting one game. Hill was a third-round pick back in 2018, and also declined after his rookie year.

In his first pro season he had 5.5 sacks while starting 12 games, but over the past two years he’s had just two total sacks while being reduced to a rotational role. It makes sense for both sides, with each addressing an area of need.

Bills Trade Darryl Johnson To Panthers

August 30th, 2021 at 11:46am CST by Zachary Links

The Bills have agreed to trade defensive end Darryl Johnson to the Panthers (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). In exchange, the Panthers will send a 2022 sixth-round draft pick to Buffalo. 

Johnson drew interest from multiple clubs, Rapoport hears. Ultimately, the Panthers won out, scoring a late addition from old friends Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott. New Panthers GM Scott Fitterer sees potential in Johnson, a former seventh-round pick who has 31 career games and two sacks to his credit.

Johnson was facing long odds of making the Bills’ final cut, given their surplus of talent up front. They’re already slated to start Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison at DE with support from A.J. Epenesa and rookies Gregory Rousseau and Carlos Basham.

Now, Johnson will fight for snaps behind Brian Burns and Morgan Fox in Carolina. Still, the 24-year-old figures to spend more time on special teams.

With Johnson in the fold, the Panthers now have 72 players on the roster. They’ll need to trim nearly 20 players between now and tomorrow’s deadline.

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