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Month: September 2024

Jets Activate Mekhi Becton, Carl Lawson, C.J. Uzomah From PUP List

July 26th, 2022 at 4:44pm CST by Ben Levine

JULY 26: Some good Jets news emerged Tuesday; Becton, Lawson and Uzomah are off the team’s active/PUP list in time for the start of veterans’ training camp workouts. While Lawson will be expected to anchor the team’s edge rush — a role his late-summer 2021 Achilles tear delayed — Becton has more to prove. The 2020 first-round pick has run into rampant health- and weight-related concerns. His coming off the PUP list so soon represents a nice development for the Jets, who are planning to slot him at either left or right tackle. Of course, Becton’s stock has dropped dramatically since his quality rookie season. That raises the stakes for his 2022 training camp.

JULY 21: The Jets placed five players on the physically unable to perform list today, including three offensive linemen. According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini (on Twitter), offensive tackle Mekhi Becton, offensive tackle George Fant, defensive end Carl Lawson, tight end C.J. Uzomah, and guard Dru Samia all landed on PUP.

Becton and Fant are set to compete for the starting left tackle role, with the “loser” settling in at right tackle. However, at least to start camp, the two starting offensive tackles will be sidelined as they recover from knee injuries. Becton was limited to only one game in 2021 before suffering his injury, and since health- and conditioning-related concerns have dogged the early part of his NFL career, an early absence won’t help his case in the LT competition. Fant, meanwhile, started 15 games for the Jets last season before suffering a knee injury that ultimately required offseason surgery. If either of the two offensive tackles are forced to miss time, the Jets could turn to the likes of Connor McDermott, Chuma Edoga, and fourth-round rookie Max Mitchell.

Lawson joined the Jets last year on a three-year, $45MM pact, but a torn Achilles during preseason forced him to miss the entire campaign. Considering the Jets could easily move on from the defensive end following the 2022 season, this could end up being a make-or-break year when it comes to Lawson’s future in New York. Uzomah joined the Jets on a three-year deal this offseason after setting career-highs across the board in 2021 with the Bengals (49 receptions, 493 yards, five touchdowns). He’s currently dealing with an undisclosed injury.

Samia spent most of the 2021 season on the Jets practice squad. He’s seen time in 15 career games, including 13 appearances for the Vikings in 2020.

49ers Planning 2023 Nick Bosa Extension

July 26th, 2022 at 4:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Two of the NFL’s highest-profile (non-quarterback tier) extension candidates reside in San Francisco. It appears the 49ers will take advantage of Nick Bosa‘s rookie contract, one that runs a year longer than Deebo Samuel‘s.

The prospect of the 49ers tabling a Bosa extension to 2023 surfaced earlier this summer, despite GM John Lynch indicating in February the team has a new deal for the dominant defensive end budgeted. Tuesday, Lynch said the team is now likely to extend Bosa in 2023, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com tweets.

[RELATED: Examining Bosa’s Extension Path]

Because of the fifth-year option included in first-rounders’ contracts, the 49ers have Bosa signed for two more seasons. Samuel’s second-round deal expires after this year. Although the salary cap’s rise and the prospect of other edge rusher deals being completed between now and the 2023 offseason invites the prospect of Bosa’s price tag rising, the 49ers sound willing to risk that. Bosa is attached to an $895K base salary this season; his 2023 price tag comes in at $17.9MM.

Jimmy Garoppolo‘s $26MM cap number currently complicates 49ers extension math. So does Samuel’s murky status. The 49ers’ $4.9MM in cap space sits 31st in the league. Samuel reported to 49ers camp Tuesday, and Lynch called talks with the wideout “substantive,” though he cautioned nothing is imminent here (video link). While Bosa signed for $33.6MM guaranteed in 2019, doing so as the No. 2 overall pick, Samuel’s rookie deal was worth $7.7MM. The 2020 CBA has largely curbed holdouts, though it has increased “hold-ins” as a negotiating measure. Samuel did not participate in the 49ers’ minicamp, which came less than two months after his trade request.

Bosa signing an extension in 2023 would put him on the same track as other pass-rushing standouts. T.J. Watt, Aaron Donald, Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa signed deals ahead of their fifth seasons. Von Miller played Year 5 on the franchise tag before signing a record extension ahead of his sixth season. Myles Garrett, however, inked his current deal ahead of his fourth year. Donald’s defender-record $31.7MM-per-year deal represents the current defender standard. Nick Bosa ending up with a deal between Watt’s $28MM-AAV pact and Donald’s would make sense. Then again, as the QB market regularly shows, less accomplished players frequently surpass monster contracts given to superstars. Bosa is one of the NFL’s best defensive players, and despite not quite being on Donald’s plane, the fourth-year 49er defensive end producing another strong year would likely lead to conversations about topping Donald’s price.

Watt staged a “hold-in” effort last year, passing on team drills during training camp before he signed an extension just before the season. It would be interesting if Nick Bosa followed that path this year, given his low base salary and importance to the 49ers’ defense. For now, it looks like the younger Bosa brother will play a fourth season on his rookie contract.

Saints Sign Malcolm Brown, Nick Martin

July 26th, 2022 at 4:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

With an Alvin Kamara suspension in play for 2022, the Saints have been looking at veteran running backs. They added one to their mix Tuesday.

The Saints added former Rams and Dolphins back Malcolm Brown, doing so on a day in which they also signed center Nick Martin. The Brown addition comes after a fairly thorough look into the position this offseason, while Martin — after five years with the Texans and one with the Raiders — should be expected to compete for a backup job.

New Orleans brought in both Sony Michel and David Johnson this year, while also auditioning USFL Offensive Player of the Year Darius Victor. Johnson is believed to have come with too high a price tag for the Saints, per NFL.com’s Jane Slater (video link). The Michel workout also came just before the former Patriots and Rams starter signed with the Dolphins, who opted to let Brown walk as they transitioned to a new coaching staff.

Although Mark Ingram is positioned to be Kamara’s top backup, Slater adds the Saints would not plan to use the 33-year-old as a full-timer at this stage of his career. Brown coming in provides insurance, with a Kamara suspension — for a February brawl in Las Vegas that led to an arrest and a civil lawsuit — potentially coming down this season. A Kamara ban would obviously make a significant impact on the Saints’ offense, judging by how it looked last season when the Pro Bowl back missed time, but Brown does provide a potential upgrade alongside Ingram.

Brown, 29, suffered a quadriceps injury last season; he played just seven games during his short Dolphins tenure. While Brown rushed for just 125 yards in 2021, he gained 419 and scored five touchdowns as part of a 2020 Rams committee. The former Todd Gurley backup also held regular special teams roles in Los Angeles, giving him a potential boost to make New Orleans’ 53-man roster. The Saints also have veteran special-teamer Dwayne Washington, recent signing Devine Ozigbo and third-year back Tony Jones on their 90-man offseason roster.

Martin, also 29, worked as Houston’s full-time starting center from 2017-20, earning an extension in that time. Despite missing his entire rookie season, Martin has proven durable since. He has not missed a game since 2017, when he was sidelined for two, and has 62 career starts. The former second-round pick, however, did not start a game for the Raiders in 2021, and lingered in free agency for months. He joins Forrest Lamp and Josh Andrews as notable Saints interior O-line depth. The team’s inside trio of Andrus Peat, Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz is set.

The Saints also signed defensive end Scott Patchan and waived punter Daniel Whelan, offensive lineman Derek Schweiger and cornerback Jordan Miller on Tuesday.

Buccaneers To Sign WR Julio Jones

July 26th, 2022 at 3:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Buccaneers have two Pro Bowl wide receivers and gave former Falcon Russell Gage a $10MM-per-year deal this offseason, they are not stopping here at wide receiver. A rather notable ex-Gage teammate is coming to Tampa.

The Bucs reached a one-year agreement with Julio Jones on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. He will team with Gage, his Atlanta teammate of three seasons, along with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in what will be another decorated Tampa Bay receiver stable. Jones committed to the Bucs for $6MM, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The deal can be worth up to $8MM.

This news comes shortly after Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times noted Godwin will not start camp on the Bucs’ active/PUP list (Twitter link). It would certainly have been understandable if Godwin, who suffered a torn ACL in December and underwent surgery Jan. 3, eased into camp work. But the former Pro Bowler will not require a roster move to begin practice. Coupled with the Jones addition, the Bucs will have one of the most accomplished wideout groups in modern NFL history.

While Tampa Bay signing an All-Decade wideout to pair with Tom Brady is not exactly new, given the team’s multiyear partnership with Antonio Brown, Jones brings none of the off-field baggage Brown does. That said, Brown displayed a higher performance level than Jones last season. Jones has seen hamstring trouble sidetrack his career, leading to an absence-laden Titans season and a several-month free agency stay — after Tennessee made the 2021 trade acquisition a cap casualty in March. The Bucs will still take a flier on the player who ripped off the most prolific six-year stretch by a receiver in NFL history.

Jones’ 9,388 receiving yards from 2014-19 are the most in a six-season span ever, but in the 2020s, the former perennial Pro Bowler has missed 14 games. Most of those absences came because of hamstring trouble. Jones’ hamstring issues led him to Tennessee’s IR list in 2021, a season in which he finished with 31 catches for 434 yards and one touchdown. Those were easily career-worst totals for the future Hall of Famer, but the Bucs will attempt to coax a bounce-back effort in Jones’ age-33 season.

The Bucs are making this signing despite rostering Scotty Miller, Breshad Perriman, 2021 fourth-round pick Jaelon Darden and 2020 fifth-round pick Tyler Johnson as well. Miller’s rookie-contract contributions notwithstanding, he is not a lock to make Tampa Bay’s roster. The same can probably be said for Jones, who will need to show — at least during camp and the preseason — he can submit a stretch of healthy work to be part of this talented receiving corps. Jones staying healthy during the preseason should all but assure him a spot on this roster.

USFL DPOY Chris Odom Auditions For Bengals, Cardinals, Saints

July 26th, 2022 at 3:13pm CST by Ben Levine

JULY 26: Odom’s workout itinerary surfaced Tuesday. The USFL Defensive Player of the Year auditioned for the Bengals, Cardinals and Saints, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets. Odom first trekked to Arizona and Cincinnati but headed to New Orleans today. It certainly looks like he will have options to tack an NFL season onto his spring-summer USFL work. He would be following a few others once he latches on with a team.

JULY 9: Chris Odom put himself back on the NFL map with a strong performance in the USFL. The edge rusher’s agent announced that Odom has three upcoming workouts with NFL teams (h/t to Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com). The agent didn’t reveal the three squads, but he said the “calls are starting to come in fast” for his client.

The son of longtime Colts linebacker Cliff Odom, Chris Odom went undrafted out of Arkansas State in 2017. He bounced around the NFL a bit, spending time with the Falcons (two stints), Packers, and Washington. He’s ultimately saw time in 11 NFL games, collecting 16 tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble. He also spent time in the AAF and the CFL before landing his most recent gig is the United States Football League.

Back in February, Odom was selected in the second round of the USFL draft. He proceeded to have a standout season with the Houston Gamblers, earning league Defensive Player of the Years honors after compiling 41 tackles, 12.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, and four blocked field goals. That performance has apparently put him back on the NFL radar, but during a conversation with Yahoo’s Chris Estrada, Odom was still focused on his USFL squad. While he acknowledged that “whatever opportunity presents itself [after the USFL season], then so be it,” he reiterated how important it was to him that the USFL gave him the opportunity to showcase his skills.

“I have teammates that haven’t played football in a year, two years, three years, some even four years – whether it wasn’t the right opportunity, injury, COVID,” Odom said. “We all just were happy to be able to play football again. So we all just wanted to show everybody what we were capable of.”

We recently saw one USFL player take his talents back to the NFL when linebacker Christian Sam signed with the Cowboys.

Dolphins To Sign WR Mohamed Sanu

July 26th, 2022 at 2:46pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Dolphins have already been in the headlines this offseason with their additions at the receiver position. The team is making another one today, signing veteran Mohamed Sanu, per his agent (on Twitter). 

The former third-rounder has been well-travelled in recent years, a notable contrast to the early part of his career. In 2014 (the third of four years spent with the Bengals), he posted 790 yards – a total which remained his career high for several years. It wasn’t until his final full season in Atlanta that he upped that mark with a personal-best 66 receptions and 838 yards.

Since his midseason 2019 trade to the Patriots, however, Sanu’s production has dropped off. 2020 was also split between two teams (the 49ers and Lions); it was with the latter that he registered the most recent starts of his career. Despite releasing him the year before, San Francisco brought back the Rutgers product in 2021. Limited to eight games, he played nearly half of the team’s offensive snaps, but made just 15 catches. The 49ers have Jauan Jennings as their primary backup to Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.

In Miami, Sanu will join a WR corps which already featured Jaylen Waddle and added Tyreek Hill and Cedrick Wilson this offseason. He will look to catch onto the backend of the roster as the Dolphins aim to take a dramatic step forward on offense. To make room for the signing, the team is releasing WR Cody Core with a non-football injury designation (Twitter link via CBS’ Jonathan Jones).

Seahawks RB Chris Carson Retires

July 26th, 2022 at 2:02pm CST by Adam La Rose

Earlier this offseason, it came out that Chris Carson‘s playing days may very well be over. Today, that fear has been confirmed, as Carson is retiring from the NFL at the age of 27 (Twitter link via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport). 

Carson was limited to just four games this season as a result of a neck injury. It was the latest in a long list of issues preventing him from playing a full season in any of his five NFL seasons, all spent in Seattle. In June, head coach Pete Carroll indicated that the injury severely threated Carson’s ability to play again.

As Rapoport notes, the Seahawks are officially releasing Carson (who has one non-void year remaining on his contract) with a failed physical designation. Doing so will allow him to receive injury protection benefits, just as they have done previously with the likes of Cliff Avril and Kam Chancellor. While that news will certainly help Carson financially, today is nevertheless the unfortunate end of his NFL career.

The five-year veteran, who signed a two-year deal worth $10.4MM in March 2021, will still collect $2MM from the Seahawks via injury protection, Joel Corry of CBS Sports tweets. The Seahawks will be hit with $1.2MM of that cost on their 2022 salary cap.

Then, earlier this month, Carson expressed his intentions of working to get back on the field in spite of the long odds. “I see myself playing until I feel like stopping,” he said. “My mindset is never to give up, so I’m staying positive like I said, and [will] continue to fight and get back onto the field.”

The former seventh-round pick took on the No. 1 role in his second season, and held onto it until the neck injury. He topped 1,100 rushing yards in 2018 and 2019, providing the offense with a consistent, quality presence. Overall, he amassed 4,306 scrimmage yards and 31 total touchdowns in 49 career games.

Seattle added youth at the position in recent years, drafting Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas. Most recently, they added Kenneth Walker this past April, further signaling that Carson’s days may have been numbered. That trio, along with Rashaad Penny, will look to fill the void left by Carson’s absence.

Bears’ Robert Quinn Reports To Training Camp; Latest On Trade Potential

July 26th, 2022 at 1:11pm CST by Adam La Rose

One high-profile member of the Bears’ front seven made headlines yesterday, and today, another is in the news. Robert Quinn has reported to training camp, as noted by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (on Twitter). 

[RELATED: Roquan Smith Won’t Participate In Bears’ Camp]

The 32-year-old did not attend mandatory minicamp in June. Given the fact that his decision was unexcused, speculation was only further fuelled with respect to his desire to remain in Chicago, where he has been for the past two years. Quinn earned his second career Pro Bowl nod last season, with a resurgent 18.5-sack campaign.

It was reported in May that he wanted out of Chicago – something which wouldn’t come as a surprise, considering his age and production, along with the fact that the Bears are rebuilding. He is under contract for three more seasons, with cap hits between $17.1MM and $18.2MM. There is no guaranteed money left on his deal, however.

Teams have thus been keeping an eye on Quinn’s availability if new GM Ryan Poles makes a trade a possibility. When asked about the subject of Quinn’s intentions, Poles said, “I haven’t had that [conversation] with him. I would hope that he wants to be here. Nothing’s changed on that part” (Twitter link via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin).

The Bears have either traded (Khalil Mack), cut (Danny Trevathan, Eddie Goldman) or elected not to re-sign (Akiem Hicks) several big-name members of their defense already this offseason. Moving on from Quinn would therefore be a matter of continuing to offload sizable contracts, though it remains to be seen how willing the new front office is willing to do so in his case. Like with Roquan Smith, Quinn’s level of participation in camp will be the subject of scrutiny.

Steelers Sign RB Jeremy McNichols

July 26th, 2022 at 12:15pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Steelers have added some depth to their offensive backfield. The team announced on Tuesday that they have signed Jeremy McNichols. 

The former fifth-rounder bounced around quite a bit early in his career. By far the largest workload he has received to date has come during his two years with the Titans, though. Between 2020 and 2021, he logged 88 carries for 360 yards and one touchdown. McNichols stood out in the passing game as well, adding 295 yards on 40 catches in Tennessee.

The 26-year-old had the opportunity to become the team’s lead back after Derrick Henry‘s injury, but D’Onta Foreman wound up being the primary beneficiary of the increased snaps. After the Titans made some changes to their RBs room, McNichols was on the move once again in free agency, initially signing with the Falcons. By the middle of last month, though, he found himself on waivers and in need of a new home.

The Steelers, meanwhile, have been in the market for depth at the position. While Najee Harris is in line to remain the focal point of Pittsburgh’s offense and shoulder one of the heaviest workloads in the NFL, increased competition for backup spots will be in order. McNichols will look to carve out a role for himself on a depth chart also featuring Benny Snell and Anthony McFarland Jr. The way the team’s backfield shakes out in camp will be an intriguing storyline within their new-look offense.

Bears To Sign OT Riley Reiff

July 26th, 2022 at 11:10am CST by Adam La Rose

The remodelling of Chicago’s offensive line continues. The Bears are signing veteran tackle Riley Reiff, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). 

The one-year pact carries a maximum value of $12.5MM, with $10MM of that total considered likely to be earned, Schefter adds. This marks the second straight offseason in which he joins a new team on a one-year free agent deal, albeit he is doing so far later this year than last. Reiff previously worked out with the Jets, who made an offer, but no deal ever came to fruition.

The 33-year-old joined the Bengals last year, on a contract which was smaller than the one he is signing now. He started all 12 games he appeared in, before being sidelined with an injury in December. He earned a PFF grade of 67.3, continuing his career trend of solid, yet unspectacular, play.

Another notable aspect of Reiff’s play last season, of course, was the fact that he played right tackle, after manning the blindside during his tenure in Minnesota. He didn’t live up to the expectations associated with the five-year, $58.75MM contract he signed to join the Vikings, but will provide starting-caliber play for the Bears’ new-look offensive front.

Chicago signed fellow veteran blocker Michael Schofield yesterday. It remains to be seen where he and Reiff will line up, but their additions should help protect Justin Fields better in his second season.

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