HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Texans To Trade Shaq Lawson To Jets

August 29th, 2021 at 5:55pm CST by Zachary Links

On Sunday, the Texans agreed to trade edge rusher Shaq Lawson to the Jets (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). In exchange, New York will send a sixth-round draft pick to Houston. 

Lawson came to Houston earlier this year in the deal that sent inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney to Miami. He turned in a solid, if unspectacular, 2020 campaign with the Dolphins. Previous to that, Lawson recorded a career-high 6.5 sacks for the Bills in 2019. For his career, Sack-a-Shaq has 20.5 sacks across five pro seasons.

The Jets will now take on Lawson and the rest of his contract. That means a paltry $1.4M in 2021 plus club control in 2022 with no guaranteed money. So, if Lawson is a bust, the Jets can drop him without penalty. And, if things work out, they can keep him for ’22 for a $8.9MM salary. It’s a savvy move for Joe Douglas & Co. — they gave up very little to fortify their defensive line in the wake of Carl Lawson‘s season-ending Achilles tear.

Lawson might not be a world-beater, but he was probably their best option after losing C. Lawson and Vinny Curry in a short span.

“It’s always easy to play the fictional game of, ‘Let’s go get somebody,’ but the reality is [it’s] few and far between in terms of what’s available,” head coach Robert Saleh said recently. “Now, obviously, Joe and his staff are working relentlessly, always trying to look at the roster and always communicating.”

Lawson has a little over two weeks to cram on his new team’s playbook. The Jets kick off the 2021 season on Sept. 12 when they face the Panthers in Carolina.

Vikings, Harrison Smith Agree To $64MM Deal

August 29th, 2021 at 5:44pm CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings and Harrison Smith have agreed to a four-year, $64MM extension (Twitter link via Mike Golic Jr. of ESPN Radio). With that, the All-Pro now stands as the second highest-paid safety in the league. 

Smith, 32, was previously set to enter the final season of his five-year, $51.25MM deal. It was a whopper of a deal at the time, but that AAV had him outside of the top ten among safeties in 2021. Smith, who has spent the last nine years in Minnesota, wondered whether he was headed for divorce with the only NFL team he’s ever known.

“I mean I don’t know what happens at the end of careers,” Smith said recently. “Sometimes things change. I don’t plan on that happening, but the NFL is the NFL. It’s always wild. But I’ll always consider myself a Viking no matter what.”

Now, after watching Anthony Harris‘ offseason departure, Smith has a brand new deal and a significant pay bump to boot. Still a high-end safety, Pro Football Focus has rated him in the top-15 for each of the last four years. That includes 2015 when he graded No. 1 at safety.

This’ll be Year 10, but there’s no reason to believe that Smith is slowing down. Last year, Smith matched his career high with five interceptions. Now, with a new deal, he’ll look to set even more watermarks in Minnesota.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/29/21

August 29th, 2021 at 12:34pm CST by Rory Parks

We will keep track of all of today’s minor moves here. Cutdown day is set for 4pm ET on Tuesday, August 31. Teams must cut their roster sizes from 80 to 53 by that time:

Philadelphia Eagles

93% Of Players Vaccinated

August 29th, 2021 at 12:08pm CST by Rory Parks

93% of the NFL’s players have been vaccinated, as the league’s chief medical officer, Allen Sills, recently stated (Twitter link via Mark Maske of the Washington Post). That is a sizable increase from the last update we received back in July, when 68% of players were said to have been vaccinated.

Although teams cannot officially punish or cut players for failing to get the vaccine, the NFL has done everything in its power to convince its workforce to do so. For instance, vaccinated players have only been required to get a COVID test once every two weeks, while unvaccinated players have to get tested every day. Also, vaccinated players are only forced to miss time if they test positive, and even then, they can return after two negative tests taken 24 hours part. Unvaccinated players, meanwhile, are required to stay away for at least 10 days if they test positive, five days if they are a close contact of someone who tested positive, and five days if they miss a test.

The Delta variant has caused some problems among a few clubs, but the high vaccination rate has helped limit those issues to “clusters” as opposed to true outbreaks (Twitter link via Maske). Still, the league will continue to see positive tests in vaccinated players, just as society as a whole is experiencing. In light of that, the NFL is willing to test vaccinated players every week instead of every two weeks, as Judy Battista of NFL.com tweets. The union is continuing to push for daily testing, which the NFL eventually conceded to in 2020.

The NFLPA has thus far resisted the league’s attempts to compel players to get the vaccine, and though union president J.C. Tretter claimed that the NFL never requested such a mandate, the league adamantly refutes that claim, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. While we wait to see if the league and union ultimately come together on that issue, the league has dangled yet another carrot for the vaccine holdouts.

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, regardless of whether the league increases testing frequency for vaccinated players to once a week, only unvaccinated players will be required to submit to game-day testing. So if an unvaccinated player tests positive on game day, they will miss at least that game — probably more, as they will be forced to sit out for 10 days — and any unvaccinated close contacts will miss the game as well.

With teams required to slash their roster sizes from 80 to 53 players by 4pm ET on Tuesday, you can be sure that any unvaccinated bubble players will be at a greater risk of being cut.

Colts WR T.Y. Hilton To Miss Time; OT Sam Tevi Suffers Torn ACL

August 29th, 2021 at 10:28am CST by Rory Parks

Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton is expected to miss multiple weeks due to an injury sustained in practice on Wednesday, as Stephen Holder of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Adam Schefter of ESPN.com says Hilton is dealing with an upper back/neck malady, and it is unclear exactly how long he will be sidelined (Twitter link).

Hilton, of course, is a team icon who currently ranks third on the Colts’ all-time receiving yards list. He has spent his entire career in Indianapolis since being selected in the third round of the 2012 draft, though it appeared this offseason that a divorce may be in the cards. The team let Hilton hit the open market, and he received a strong offer from the Ravens. He was on the verge of signing with Baltimore — who offered him considerably more money — before an 11th-hour call from Colts owner Jim Irsay convinced him to change his mind.

Indianapolis was looking forward to fielding an intriguing collection of WR talent with Hilton, Michael Pittman, Parris Campbell, and Zach Pascal. Campbell, a 2019 second-rounder, has played in just nine games in his pro career due to injuries of his own, and Pittman is entering his second professional season. So Hilton’s experience will be beneficial to this group, and Holder notes in a separate tweet that he and QB Carson Wentz — whose Week 1 availability is also up in the air — were starting to build real chemistry in practice.

If Hilton is indeed forced to miss regular season action, another roster spot for players like Dezmon Patmon, Ashton Dulin, and Mike Strachan could be there for the taking. The Colts could also peruse the cuts that will soon be coming en masse for other options.

In other unwelcome news, Colts offensive tackle Sam Tevi has suffered a torn ACL and will miss the entire 2021 season, as Mike Wells of ESPN.com tweets. In Wells’ estimation, Tevi was on the roster bubble anyway. Eric Fisher, who will ultimately step in as the club’s starting left tackle, may not be ready for the start of the season, but Julie’n Davenport has taken the bulk of first-team reps at LT recently, and it sounds as if Indy prefers to deploy Davenport as the swing tackle once Fisher returns.

J.K. Dobbins Believed To Have Suffered Season-Ending Injury

August 29th, 2021 at 9:22am CST by Rory Parks

It is believed that Ravens second-year running back J.K. Dobbins suffered a season-ending knee injury during last night’s preseason matchup against Washington, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds that an ACL tear is the expected diagnosis. Dobbins is presently undergoing an MRI to confirm (Twitter link).

This is, of course, a devastating blow to Baltimore’s offense. Although the Ravens made several high-profile additions to their WR corps this offseason, their attack was still going to be predicated on a fearsome ground game spearheaded by Dobbins, fellow RB Gus Edwards, and quarterback Lamar Jackson. Now, Edwards suddenly finds himself atop the depth chart, with third-year scat-back Justice Hill and 2020 UDFA Ty’Son Williams — who has played well this preseason — behind him.

Dobbins, a first-round talent whom the Ravens snapped up with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2020 draft, was gradually eased into professional action. He did not receive double-digit rushing attempts in a game until Week 8 last year, but once he became a featured piece of the team’s offense, he was tremendous. He finished the season with 134 carries for 805 yards, good for an excellent 6.0 yards-per-carry average, and he added nine rushing TDs.

It will be next to impossible to replace the production that the Ravens expected to get out of Dobbins this year. Edwards has been a strong performer in his own right, as he boasts a 5.2 YPC average over three years in Baltimore. However, he is not the receiving threat that Dobbins was projected to be, and his success has generally come as a complementary piece, not as a feature back. He is a former UDFA himself, so maybe the Ravens can spin more hay into gold with Williams or 2021 college free agent Nate McCrary.

If the organization looks for external options, Todd Gurley could be a target. Gurley visited the Ravens back in June, and he remains unsigned. Knee injuries have derailed his career, and though he managed to play 15 games in each of the past two seasons, he could not reach the 4.0 YPC threshold in either year. Still, if he were to be deployed as part of a timeshare with Edwards and Hill/Williams/McCrary, he may be more effective.

Speculatively, a player like the Colts’ Marlon Mack could also be an option. Mack suffered a torn Achilles in Week 1 of the 2020 season, but he eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing in 2019 and came close to doing so in 2018, despite playing in only 12 games that year. The injury depressed his market this offseason, and he re-upped with Indy on a one-year, $2MM pact. The Colts, however, have Jonathan Taylor entrenched as their RB1, and they are also rostering Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins. If GM Chris Ballard feels he has enough depth there, perhaps he and Ravens GM Eric DeCosta could swing a deal.

Texans Shift Tytus Howard To LG

August 29th, 2021 at 9:09am CST by Rory Parks

The Texans selected Tytus Howard in the first round of the 2019 draft, doing so with the thought that he might be the club’s long-term solution at left tackle. The pick was seen as something of a reach, and perhaps a panic move after the Eagles leapfrogged Houston to select Andre Dillard, who was the superior prospect. A few months later, the Texans swung a trade for LT Laremy Tunsil, and Howard opened his rookie season as the starting RT.

A torn meniscus ended Howard’s rookie campaign after just eight games, and last offseason was a difficult one for him, as he was recovering from the meniscus surgery along with a procedure to repair a broken finger. The lack of practices due to the pandemic also hurt; although he was entering his second season as a pro, he is an FCS (Alabama State) product who was always going to need a little extra time to reach his potential at the NFL level.

He still wound up starting 14 games at RT in 2020, grading out as Pro Football Focus’ 61st-best tackle out of 79 qualifiers. Aaron Wilson of Sports Talk 790 attributes that less-than-impressive ranking to a slow start engendered by the offseason problems and the fact that Howard had to consistently bail out former right guard Zach Fulton, who yielded 11 sacks last year. Nonetheless, the team is now moving Howard to the interior and will line him up at left guard, per Wilson.

Howard played one game at LG in 2019, and the team tried him out at several different positions during training camp this year. But he was deployed at left guard during last week’s preseason game against the Cowboys, and that’s where he will open the 2021 season. He has the size, strength, and mean streak to thrive on the inside, and being sandwiched between Tunsil on the left and new center Justin Britt on the right will certainly help.

2020 fourth-rounder Charlie Heck is expected to start the season at RT, but Howard is perfectly amenable to a move back to the outside. It sounds like Houston is keeping him on his toes in case that should be necessary.

“Oh, yeah, I think I can just go back out and [play RT] again,” Howard said. “I practice it every day, so they prepare me for something like that.”

Latest On Deshaun Watson Market

August 28th, 2021 at 4:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Deshaun Watson market, as muddled as it may be, reclaimed its place atop the NFL news cycle Saturday. Texans GM Nick Caserio has discussed the Pro Bowl quarterback on more than one occasion with the Dolphins and Panthers, Armando Salguero of outkick.com reports.

Watson would prefer a trade to Miami but would not veto a deal that sends him to Charlotte, Salguero adds. The soon-to-be 26-year-old QB has a no-trade clause. The Panthers are not believed to be making a hard push for the Clemson product at this point, but they were monitoring him recently and showed considerable interest this offseason — before the sexual assault and misconduct allegations emerged.

As of now, however, the Dolphins are not meeting the first part of the Texans’ lofty asking price. Miami is not ready to part with three first-round picks for Watson, per Salguero, who adds no trade is imminent. The Texans are believed to want three first-rounders and two second-rounders for Watson, who requested a trade this past winter and has not factored into the team’s practices this summer. Houston is not expected to fetch such a haul for Watson, Adam Beasley of ProFootballNetwork.com notes, if a deal is made soon.

Miami remains interested at the right price, and if that is the case, Houston may not be able to keep its lofty price tag where it presently is. The Panthers’ interest having dwindled, and the Broncos and Eagles potentially bowing out — as Aaron Wilson of Sports Talk 790 reports, Watson will not waive his no-trade clause for Philly — may leave just one serious suitor. That would obviously benefit the Dolphins.

Additionally, the Texans are not believed to be interested in a deal that includes Tua Tagovailoa, per Salguero. That could change, but any deal for Watson not including Tagovailoa would leave the former No. 5 overall pick in a strange situation. The Dolphins were linked to Tagovailoa a year before they actually selected him, but Beasley notes the some concern about his development exists within the organization. Not everyone in the Dolphins’ organization is concerned about Tua, with the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson noting the team has been pleased with the second-year QB’s improvement. GM Chris Grier has committed to Tagovailoa as his 2021 starter on multiple occasions during the offseason.

Tagovailoa would have no path to a starting job on a team with Watson, assuming his legal trouble does not result in prison time. While Tagovailoa could serve as the Dolphins’ starter during a Watson suspension, the team would almost certainly need to unload the younger quarterback in a separate trade at some point.

It would certainly be strange for a team to acquire Watson at this point. Twenty-two women have filed civil suit against him, and at least 10 are involved in the Houston Police Department’s investigation. A grand jury is set to be empaneled soon, and the NFL is not planning to interview Watson until it has spoken with all 22 accusers. The Pro Bowl passer is not set to be deposed in the civil case until February 2022. While this would create a window for Watson to play this season, though a grand jury indictment would seemingly prompt the NFL to place him on the commissioner’s exempt list, a team that acquires the QB under these circumstances would face backlash.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/21

August 28th, 2021 at 4:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s minor moves. Teams have until 3pm CT Tuesday to cut their rosters down to 53 players.

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Dolphins Place LB Vince Biegel On IR

August 28th, 2021 at 4:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

To make room for Saturday trade acquisition Greg Mancz, the Dolphins are placing Vince Biegel on IR. This move will sideline the veteran linebacker for the season.

Biegel has not played in a regular-season game since the 2019 season. He suffered a torn Achilles’ tendon in August 2020. Although the Dolphins re-signed Biegel, he is no longer in their 2021 plans. The fifth-year ‘backer could resurface with another team in the event of an injury settlement removing him from Miami’s IR list, however.

The Dolphins initially acquired Biegel via trade from the Saints just before the 2019 season began. Biegel spent 2018 with New Orleans and 2017 with Green Bay. The Packers drafted the Wisconsin product in the 2017 fourth round. Despite having just three years’ worth of game experience, Biegel is already 28.

The Dolphins marked the only team to use Biegel as a starter, deploying him as a first-stringer in 10 games in 2019. Biegel made 59 tackles and registered 13 quarterback hits that season, compiling 2.5 sacks for the then-rebuilding team. The Dolphins have made a few changes to their linebacking group in the time since, however.

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