HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Saints Sign Damion Square

August 27th, 2021 at 4:18pm CST by Zachary Links

The Saints have signed nose tackle Damion Square, per the league wire. To make room, they’ve released fullback Sutton Smith.

Square spent 2014-20 with the Chargers, re-upping with the team in 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2020. He started 24 games for the Bolts in total and enjoyed one of his best seasons in 2018 — 6.5 sacks on a 51% defensive snap rate. However, Los Angeles’ new coaching staff did not bring him back for an eighth season.

Square hooked on with the Browns earlier this year, only to get released earlier this month. The Browns didn’t necessarily need him, after adding the likes of Jadeveon Clowney, Takk McKinley and Malik Jackson. They also have defensive tackle Andrew Billings back from his 2020 opt-out.

The 32-year-old will now try to make an impression on the Saints with just days to go before the final cut to 53.

Patriots Waive TE Kahale Warring

August 27th, 2021 at 4:11pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots have waived tight end Kahale Warring, per the NFL’s transactions wire. The timing comes as a bit of a surprise, since Warring was claimed off waivers just a few days ago. 

[POLL: Who Will Be The Patriots’ QB1?]

The Texans, who are now run by longtime Bill Belichick right-hand man Nick Caserio, cut Warring in their move down to 80 players. The Pats grabbed him right after placing fellow TEs Dalton Keene and Troy Fumagalli on IR. Warring seemed to have a solid chance of making the roster in support of Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, especially since Henry is banged up with an injury of his own. However, for one reason or another, it didn’t work out.

The rest of the league will now have an opportunity to claim Warring. The Colts and Saints tried to snag him the last time around, so both teams seem like logical destinations for the 24-year-old.

Texans Shopping Shaq Lawson, Lonnie Johnson

August 27th, 2021 at 4:05pm CST by Zachary Links

Texans pass rusher Shaq Lawson and defensive back Lonnie Johnson are being “heavily discussed in league circles as trade candidates,” according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (Twitter link). Both players have started in the past, but neither is currently projected to be first-string for the Texans.

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. For now, the Texans have him under club control for another two seasons, thanks to the three-year, $30MM he inked with the ‘Fins last spring.

The Texans selected Johnson, a Kentucky product, in the second round of the 2019 draft. He’s got all the physical tools one could want in a corner or a safety. At 6-2, 213 pounds, he ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at the Combine. He’s shown flashes of potential with the Texans over the last two years, but he hasn’t quite put it all together yet as a pro.

Packers Release Devin Funchess

August 27th, 2021 at 3:55pm CST by Zachary Links

The Packers have released Devin Funchess with an injury settlement, per the league’s transactions wire. Between this and last year’s opt-out, Funchess’ Packers run will end without having ever played a game for Green Bay.

This was the expected move after the Packers placed Funchess on IR earlier this week. Funchess has not played since his 2019 stint with the Colts, which was really more like a cup of coffee. That season ended midway through the season opener thanks to a broken collarbone. Funchess earned $10MM in salary that year — this time, he’ll leave with a portion of his one-year, $1.2MM contract.

The Panthers selected Funchess in the second round of the 2015 draft, but he has yet to put it all together in the pros. He enjoyed the best year of his career in 2017, compiling 63 receptions for 840 yards and eight touchdowns. Still, it’s worth noting that it took him 111 targets to get those 63 grabs.

With Funchess out of the picture, the Packers will move forward with Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard, and Randall Cobb as their top WRs.

Bills Cut Rico Gafford, Joey Ivie 

August 27th, 2021 at 2:11pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bills have made a handful of moves in advance of Saturday night’s preseason tilt. The club activated wide receivers Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis, plus defensive tackles Star Lotulelei and Vernon Butler from the Reserve/COVID-19 list. To make room, they’ve waived receiver Rico Gafford and defensive tackle Joey Ivie while placing DT Treyvon Hester on injured reserve. 

[RELATED: Bills Place G Forrest Lamp On IR]

The Bills claimed Gafford and Ivie just a few days ago. Before that, Gafford was on the Cardinals’ training camp roster and had spent three seasons with the Raiders. Gafford, a cornerback-turned-wide receiver out of Wyoming, has dressed for a total of eight games as a pro.

Ivie, meanwhile, came from the Colts. He’s also had stops with the Browns, Titans, Chiefs, Seahawks, Falcons, and Cowboys. Now, he could be on the verge of his eighth NFL team.

Hester, 29 in September, was pushing to support the Bills’ talented defensive line. To date, he’s got 41 career appearances for the Raiders, Eagles, and WFT. Unfortunately, his ailing back will keep him off the field for the time being.

Cowboys Rework Ezekiel Elliott’s Deal

August 27th, 2021 at 10:20am CST by Zachary Links

The Cowboys have converted $8.6MM of Ezekiel Elliott‘s $9.6M base salary into a signing bonus (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). The move gives the Cowboys an extra $6.88M in cap space for the current year by spreading that obligation across future seasons.

The restructuring leaves Dallas with an estimated $12MM in room for the current year. That’ll give them enough room to swing a substantial trade between now and the fall deadline. Or, if they don’t make a huge splash, they can roll some of those dollars to next year.

Elliott is signed through 2026 thanks to the six-year, $90MM re-up he signed a couple years back. The revision doesn’t change much on his end — Zeke remains tied for the second-highest average annual value in the league among running backs. Knotted with Alvin Kamara, Panthers star Christian McCaffrey is the only RB to rank higher.

The Cowboys are hoping that Elliott can get back to his old form in 2021. The three-time Pro Bowler finished 2020 with just 979 yards and a 4.0 yards per carry average.

Saints To Start Jameis Winston

August 27th, 2021 at 10:11am CST by Zachary Links

The Saints will name Jameis Winston as their starting quarterback to open the year (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Winston, hot off of a strong preseason performance, will lead the charge while Taysom Hill resumes his gadget/wild card role. 

Winston looked strong against the Jaguars on Monday, posting 123 yards and two touchdowns while completing nine of his ten throws. While he was interception-prone in Tampa (to put it politely), he was calm, cool, and accurate in the pocket. Hill, meanwhile, went 11-for-20 with 138 yards and a touchdown. Up until this point, Saints head coach Sean Payton kept a pretty tight lid on his plans.

“I’m not going to have weekly or daily updates,” Payton said just last week. “These guys are both working hard.”

Winston now has a prime opportunity to lead the post-Drew Brees Saints offense. He’ll also have a chance to cash in. His modest one-year, $5.5MM deal includes $7MM in incentives, so a strong year could more than double his earnings.

Winston, 27, attempted just eleven passes last year for the Saints. In his last season with the Bucs in 2019, he threw 33 touchdowns while also lobbing an incredible 30 interceptions. This time around, he’s hoping to fix that ratio.

Eagles Cut RB Kerryon Johnson From IR With Injury Settlement

August 26th, 2021 at 10:47pm CST by Ben Levine

Kerryon Johnson is a free man. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the Eagles have waived the veteran running back from IR with an injury settlement. This means Johnson is now free to sign elsewhere.

The former second-round pick was waived by the Lions earlier this offseason, and he was quickly scooped up by the Eagles. The 24-year-old was expected to have some kind of role behind Miles Sanders, but a knee injury quickly derailed those plans. Johnson suffered the injury earlier this month, and after getting waived by the organization, he reverted to Philly’s IR.

Had Johnson remained on IR through the start of the regular season, he would have been ineligible to play for the Eagles this season. With today’s move, Johnson will now have an opportunity to play elsewhere in 2021.

Considering the running back’s youth and experience, there’s a good chance he’ll find another gig. Johnson spent three seasons in Detroit, including a rookie campaign where he collected 854 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns. However, he struggled to match that production in 2019 and 2020, and he was limited by injuries in both 2018 and 2019 (and, now, 2021).

Raiders Waive LB Te’von Coney

August 26th, 2021 at 9:39pm CST by Ben Levine

The Raiders have once again moved on from Te’von Coney. The team announced this evening (via Twitter) that they’ve waived the linebacker.

Coney made a name for himself during his four seasons at Notre Dame. In 50 games (29 starts), the 6-foot-1, 230-pound linebacker compiled 314 tackles, seven sacks, and 24.5 tackles for loss. Despite his standout performance, Coney went undrafted in the 2019 draft.

In two-plus seasons with the organization, Coney has already been waived three times. He spent the majority of his rookie season on the Raiders practice squad, and he remained unsigned for much of the 2020 campaign before rejoining the Raiders earlier this month. Coney was set to earn $660K in 2021.

The Raiders have been busy adding to their linebackers corps in recent days. The team acquired Denzel Perryman from the Panthers, and they took a look at free agent Patrick Onwuasor. Las Vegas could be without Nicholas Morrow for the foreseeable future, and backup linebacker Javin White is also dealing with an injury, so it’s a bit surprising that they’ve now decided to subtract from their depth.

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