HEADLINES

Month: December 2024

Orlando Brown Jr., Jessie Bates Absent From Training Camps

July 26th, 2022 at 10:16am CST by Adam La Rose

Two notable absences were widely expected as training camps open this week: Chiefs left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and Bengals safety Jessie Bates. To no surprise, then, their respective teams will be without them for the beginning of summer practices. 

Brown’s absence was confirmed by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo (video link). The news comes in the wake of details regarding the final offer made by the Chiefs to get the three-time Pro Bowler signed long-term. The proposed deal would have allowed Brown to reach his stated goal of becoming the league’s highest-paid offensive lineman, but issues related to the structure and guarantees led to the deal falling through.

Reports have since surfaced about the team’s frustrations regarding the process which has left both sides in their present situation. With Brown attached to a franchise tag valued at $16.7MM, head coach Andy Reid said, when asked about whether or not the 26-year-old would report to camp, “I don’t know that. So I don’t know whether he’s going to be here or not. If he’s here, great. And if he’s not, we move on.”

Bates, meanwhile, never came nearly as close as Brown did to inking a long-term extension, something which has been a point of contention dating back to last offseason. The 25-year-old has maintained throughout this process that he will not play on the franchise tag ($12.9MM), making his decision to stay away from camp (confirmed, on Twitter, by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler) the next logical move in this saga.

In a similar vein to the Chiefs with respect to Brown, the Bengals offered a five-year deal with insufficient guarantees to gain much traction in finalizing an agreement. Bates’ absence will leave first-team reps available for Daxton Hill, the Bengals’ top draft pick and long-term successor in the likely event Bates is gone by no later than March. A trade is not considered to be in the cards at this point.

Since neither player has signed their tags, they will not be subject to fines as a result of their absences. Sitting out the campaign remains their only alternative to eventually signing and reporting, though, an eventuality which will be closely monitored in the coming days and weeks.

Giants To Sign DL Nick Williams

July 26th, 2022 at 8:56am CST by Adam La Rose

The Giants are set to add some experience to their front seven. New York is signing veteran defensive lineman Nick Williams, reports Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link). 

Williams was a seventh-round pick of the Steelers in 2013, but it was with the Chiefs that he made his debut the following season. He wound up making 21 appearances in Kansas City before being claimed off waivers by the Dolphins in 2016. He followed up that brief Miami tenure with two seasons in Chicago.

It was with the Bears in 2019 that Williams registered the first five starts of his career. He parlayed that increased playing time into personal bests in tackles (42) and sacks (six). Those totals earned him a two-year, $10MM contract with the Lions during the subsequent offseason.

The Samford alum has been a full-time starter in Detroit for the past two seasons. After an underwhelming performance in 2020 relative to the previous campaign, he took a pay cut to remain in the fold for 2021. With the Lions turning to younger options along their defensive line, they elected not to re-sign the 32-year-old this offseason.

In New York, Williams will join a d-line led by Leonard Williams, Dexter Lawrence and Justin Ellis. Given his snap share over the past three years (between 50% and 56%), the six-foot-four, 310-pounder will be capable of shouldering a rotational role, but also starting reps if need be. Per Garafolo, the Giants are waiving UDFA Jabari Ellis to make room for the Williams addition.

Latest On Bears LB Roquan Smith

July 25th, 2022 at 10:44pm CST by Adam La Rose

Many of the biggest names around the NFL have reported to their team’s training camps already, or are expected to when practices begin later this week. The situation is significantly different in Chicago as it pertains to linebacker Roquan Smith. 

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Smith will not participate in the Bears’ camp tomorrow, the scheduled day for veterans to report (Twitter link). He therefore represents the first known case of a “hold-in” in 2022. Finances are at the heart of the move; Smith is set to play on the fifth-year option this season, which is valued at $9.74MM. The veteran linebacker is not attached to an agent, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, who notes a family member is in an advisory role here.

A long-term deal has widely been viewed as the goal on both sides, given Smith’s ascendance into one of the league’s top young linebackers. In 2021, he ranked fifth in the NFL with 163 tackles, adding three sacks, an interception and three pass breakups. The idea of an extension has been in consideration for months, but little progress has clearly been made.

When asked about getting a deal finalized before the start of the 2022 campaign, new general manager Ryan Poles said in May, “I don’t know if that’s how we’re going to handle it, but I would like to. Obviously the earlier you get to that, the better. But also with a new staff, we may wait a little bit, too.”

Rapoport adds that the 25-year-old has not received an offer that he would “remotely consider” to date, leading to his decision to sit out. The LB market hasn’t seen the upward trend of other position groups this offseason, but the deal given to Foyesade Oluokun in free agency (averaging $15MM per year) could be used as a benchmark in negotiations.

The Bears have moved on from a number of expensive front seven veterans this spring, freeing up future cap space as they look to rebuild around a new core. Smith figures to be a central member of that group, but plenty of work apparently needs to be done before he is officially on the books for the long-term future.

Raiders Announce G Denzelle Good’s Retirement

July 25th, 2022 at 9:52pm CST by Ely Allen

JULY 25: Two days after agreeing to rework the final year of his contract, Raiders offensive guard Denzelle Good has seemingly retired. No announcement has been officially made by Good, but the team tweeted today that he was being moved to the reserve/retired list.

Good agreed to take a lower salary in the deal reached this weekend, but the $425,000 available in potential incentives certainly didn’t point to an upcoming retirement. Perhaps in the next few days more information will accompany the move to help make sense of the order of actions here.

The departure of Good adds another question to an offensive line that is already chock-full of them. Recent reports had listed Good as one of two offensive linemen, alongside Kolton Miller, who were solidly expected to start, with the remaining three spots up in the air. Andre James is a good bet to continue starting at center after a successful season at the position last year. John Simpson is currently the favorite at left guard, but reports indicate that rookie third-round pick Dylan Parham could push both James and Simpson for a starting job at their positions.

The right side was expected to be Good at guard with Brandon Parker and Alex Leatherwood battling for the right tackle position. Lester Cotton was the first player listed beneath Good on the depth chart, but a likelier scenario sees Leatherwood concede the tackle spot to Parker and man the guard position. Leatherwood filled in when Good missed every game but one last season after tearing his ACL. Parker replaced Leatherwood as the starting tackle in that scenario, and it seems an easy fix to just put the two back to where they were at last year.

Regardless, of the possibilities, this news is a bit of a gut-check for an offensive line that already had questions to answer for the 2022 NFL season. It will certainly be an interesting position group to keep an eye on this summer at training camp.

JULY 23: Guard Denzelle Good is coming off a year that saw him miss every remaining game after tearing his ACL in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season. Now, as he was scheduled to head into the last year of his contract, Good has agreed to a reworked contract for this season with the Raiders, according to Field Yates of ESPN. 

In the second and final year of the two-year deal he signed before last season, Good was scheduled to have a base salary of $3.09MM. In the new one-year contract meant to replace that final year, Las Vegas is set to pay Good a base salary of almost $1.04MM with a possible $425,000 available in incentives. The reduced salary is likely a reflection of his injury and could be an influence on future discussions once this contract year is over.

Before missing almost all of last year, Good had solidified his role as one of the team’s starting guards, starting 14 of the 15 games he appeared in during the 2020 season. Before that Good had been an intermittent starter since the Colts selected him in the seventh round in 2015. Despite recovering from his injury, Good is one of two players on the Raiders’ offensive line that is assumed to have a starting role locked down.

Good has been medically cleared and will be a participant when Las Vegas starts training camp on Thursday. He’ll look to have a bounce back year and show he’s fully recovered as he heads towards free agency.

NFL Workouts: 7/25/22

July 25th, 2022 at 9:25pm CST by Ely Allen

As players are moved to the PUP and NFI lists and rosters are starting to take shape for the start of training camps, many players are searching for opportunities to make a team.

Here’s the list of players who have received workouts or taken visits today and this past weekend:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

New England

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

 

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/25/22

July 25th, 2022 at 9:09pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor roster moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Packers Extend Matt LaFleur, Brian Gutekunst, Russ Ball?

July 25th, 2022 at 7:48pm CST by Ely Allen

The Packers are happy with the core of leaders they’ve built over the years and they’re determined to keep key pieces in place for years to come. Head coach Matt LaFleur, general manager Brian Gutekunst, and executive vice president Russ Ball all received extensions this offseason, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.

Interestingly, the team’s president and CEO, Mark Murphy, refused to confirm the extensions, saying only, “I’ll just say I’m confident not only Matt and Brian but (Ball) will continue to be Packers’ employees for years to come.” 

LaFleur was hired as head coach in 2019 after two starkly different seasons as an offensive coordinator with the Rams and with the Titans. As offensive coordinator in Los Angeles, LaFleur didn’t call plays, but still gets credit for coordinating the league’s top scoring offense that year. The next year he took over play-calling duties in Tennessee and, after an onslaught of injuries, the team finished with the 27th ranked scoring offense. Still, the Packers saw enough coaching potential to hire him to replace Mike McCarthy.

Since LaFleur took over in 2019, the Packers have been a league best 39-10. Unfortunately, though, LaFleur has struggled to take the league’s best regular season team to the Super Bowl, losing two straight NFC Championship games in his first two seasons and exiting in the Divisional Round of last year’s playoffs. LaFleur’s contract was set to expire at the end of the season, so an extension was expected.

Gutekunst was promoted to his current role one year before the hire of LaFleur. After entering the league as a Chiefs scouting assistant in 1998, Gutekunst quickly made his way to Wisconsin where he rose through the ranks over the following 20 years from area scout to director of college scouting to director of player personnel to his eventual general manager position in 2018. Gutekunst was granted the promotion when former general manager Ted Thompson took a reduced role with the organization after being diagnosed with neurodegenerative disorder. In Gutekunst’s five years of heading the personnel departments, the team has drafted starters like cornerback Jaire Alexander and defensive lineman Rashan Gary while bringing in impact players like Preston Smith, Za’Darius Smith, Christian Kirksey, Jaylon Smith, and Whitney Mercilus. Gutekunst’s contract was also set to expire at the end of the season, so his extension, while not guaranteed, was also expected.

Ball has been with the franchise since 2008, spending ten years as vice president of football administration/player finance and getting promoted to executive vice president/director of football operations in 2018. Ball has held the unenviable responsibility of managing the team’s salary cap, a task that hasn’t been made any easier with the demands of quarterback Aaron Rodgers. His masterful management during the pandemic was something that drew praise from Murphy, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. Ball was promoted the same year Gutekunst was, so his deal was likely also nearing an end.

This isn’t the first time Murphy and the Packers have kept silent about contract moves with the staff. The past scenario was a bit more tense as McCarthy was quietly given a one-year extension for what would eventually be his last season. Regarding the lack of an announcement or confirmation, Murphy said, “I’d prefer to keep (contract extensions) internal, but, obviously, you can see from my comments that I feel like they’re doing an outstanding job.”

With the extension of key pieces to the team’s core leadership, the Packers brass is putting forth a vote of confidence. They are likely also posing two daunting tests: 1) take the next step and win a Super Bowl and 2) keep the boat afloat when Rodgers is finally gone. The three men will apparently have another few years to complete those assignments.

Veteran WR Danny Amendola Retires

July 25th, 2022 at 5:56pm CST by Ely Allen

Longtime NFL wide receiver Danny Amendola has decided to hang up his cleats after 14 years in the league, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The former undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech certainly made an impact beyond his draft position with a lasting career of NFL football. 

Coming out of Lubbock at 5’10”, the diminutive Amendola immediately drew comparisons to another small, undrafted Red Raider wide receiver in Wes Welker, who had just finished tied for third in Offensive Player of the Year voting after an undefeated regular season with the Patriots. While Amendola certainly wanted to make his own name in the NFL, it didn’t hurt that his essential-twin was dominating four years after going undrafted.

Amendola had just had an impressive senior season for the Red Raiders, catching 109 passes for 1,245 yards and six touchdowns, but still ended up as an undrafted free agent signing with the Cowboys. He spent the entire season on the practice squad and then signed with the Eagles just to get assigned to their practice squad.

Amendola was finally granted an opportunity to play after the Rams signed him off the Eagle’s practice squad in 2009. Amendola played 14 games in that first season for St. Louis, ending the year as the team’s third receiver, but he really made his impact in the return game. In his first actual season of play, Amendola led the league in kick return yardage with 1,618 yards. He followed it up by leading the NFL in all-purpose yards in 2010 with 2,364 yards. That year saw his best receiving season with Amendola catching 85 balls for 689 yards and three touchdowns, adding 81 rushing yards, 452 punt return yards, and 1,142 kick off return yards.

The following year saw Amendola begin a long struggle with injuries. Including 15 games missed in 2011 due to a season-ending triceps surgery, Amendola would miss 24 games in the next three seasons and only play in all 16 games once for the rest of his career.

Still, Amendola was relied on throughout his career as a quick slot receiver and return man. When Welker departed New England for Denver in 2013, the Patriots went back to the undrafted Texas Tech well hours later to sign Amendola. Amendola would never quite match Welker’s production, but still gave five strong seasons that saw him pass 600 receiving yards three times and catch 12 touchdowns in the red, white, and blue. He would also lead the league in yards per punt return for the Patriots in 2015.

Amendola would bounce the next four years through Miami, Detroit, and Houston. He continued with the same type of receiving production but gave up kick returning duties and lost a lot of his effectiveness as a punt returner. Amendola’s season in Houston last year ended after he suffered a torn meniscus. It seems after 14 years in the league, that was finally the straw that broke the camel’s back and nudged the career-tough guy towards retirement.

Schefter reported that several teams came calling during the offseason, but Amendola knew it was time to let it all go. He’s ready to “pursue various other interests” that may include a future in broadcasting. About his career, Amendola was quoted saying, “It was better than I could have ever imagined.”

Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert Cleared To Practice

July 25th, 2022 at 3:20pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Dolphins have made a number of changes to their running game this offseason, including the addition of Raheem Mostert. The veteran’s health has been the cause of some speculation leading up to his debut season in Miami, but he provided an encouraging update on the subject today. 

Mostert tweeted that he has been medically cleared to return to practice. When he does get back on the field, it will be the first time since Week 1 of the 2021 campaign, in which he suffered a major knee injury. Despite the success the 49ers had in his absence, they still attempted to bring him back for a sixth (full) season in the Bay Area before he hit free agency.

Instead, Mostert joined the Dolphins on a one-year, $3.125MM deal. He, along with Chase Edmonds and Sony Michel, will give the team a more consistent level of play in the backfield, after Miami ranked 30th on the ground last season. The team will likely employ a committee approach at the RB spot, as new head coach Mike McDaniel will be familiar with from his time in San Francisco. Still Mostert, 30, should have plenty of opportunities to regain his 2019/20 form and generate a market for himself next offseason.

It was reported back in May that Miami was hopeful Mostert would be recovered in time for the start of the regular season. While he obviously has a long way to go before that point, today’s news is certainly a positive development that he could be back to full health by the fall.

Bills S Jordan Poyer Reports To Training Camp

July 25th, 2022 at 2:20pm CST by Adam La Rose

Expectations are justifiably high for the Bills heading into this season, but for months the contract status of one of their top defenders has remained a key talking point. Amidst his stated desire for a new contract, safety Jordan Poyer reported to training camp yesterday, as noted by NFL Network’s Mike Giardi (on Twitter). 

That news alone doesn’t come as much of a surprise, given that players often try to leverage their financial situations via ‘hold-ins’ now. On that point, though, Giardi adds that Poyer “is expected to practice” with the team. The 31-year-old has one year remaining on his current contract.

The fact that he is scheduled to make $6.7MM this season – a figure far lower than the compensation most other top safeties are in line for – has led the All-Pro to approach the team about an extension. In his fifth season with the Bills, Poyer matched his career high with five interceptions, adding nine pass deflections and three sacks. That kind of production has many expecting that the Bills would prefer to keep his partnership with Micah Hyde intact for at least the short-term future.

Further incentive for an new deal is the fact that Poyer’s scheduled cap hit ($10.78MM) could be lowered through an extension, which has always been viewed as being most likely to take place around training camp. Even if Poyer is on the field during practices, his lack of security beyond 2022 will loom large.

Quelling potential doubts about his desire to remain with the team, the Oregon State alum recently said “I can’t really think of a better situation for me to be in than Buffalo right now.” Progress made between the two sides on finalizing a new deal will be a storyline worth watching for a team looking to remain a Super Bowl contender now and for the foreseeable future.

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