HEADLINES

Month: October 2024

Ravens Sign WR Demarcus Robinson

August 22nd, 2022 at 6:05pm CST by Adam La Rose

TODAY, 6:05pm: Robinson has officially signed his contract with the Ravens, according to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter). It’s a one-year deal for the receiver worth $1.035MM, including $895K in guaranteed money. This is a significant bump on the $320K guarantee Robinson got from the Raiders, who ended up releasing him last week.

August 19, 3:35pm: Demarcus Robinson‘s stay on the open market appears to have been very short-lived. The veteran wideout met with the Ravens earlier today, and is expected to sign with them, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). 

Robinson signed with the Raiders in March, remaining in the AFC West after playing in Kansas City for the first six years of his career. Over that time, he saw a regular role in the team’s passing game (with the exception of his rookie season), seeing the field for between 40% and 70% of offensive snaps.

His most productive campaign came in 2020, when he hauled in 45 catches for 466 yards and three touchdowns. That contrasted with quieter seasons like 2021, though, which resulted in just 264 receiving yards. Nevertheless, the Florida alum was expected to somewhat comfortably make Las Vegas’ roster as a secondary piece to the team’s passing attack. Instead, he was among the Raiders’ first round of cuts earlier this week.

In Baltimore, Robinson will provide a veteran presence to one of the least experienced receiver rooms in the league. Baltimore has long been considered a landing spot for at least one veteran wideout, after the team lost Marquise Brown, Sammy Watkins and Miles Boykin this offseason and declined to draft any replacements. 2021 first-rounder Rashod Bateman is set to take on the No. 1 role, but the rest of the depth chart consists of unproven recent draftees Devin Duvernay, James Proche and Tylan Wallace – the latter two of whom are currently dealing with injuries.

Robinson should therefore have a relatively clear path to a roster spot and a rotational role with the Ravens. He might not start on a full-time basis, but he should provide the team with insurance behind Duvernay and Proche in particular. The Ravens entered the day with just under $9.5MM in cap space, leaving plenty of room for an addition such as this one. Given Robinson’s recent release, the deal likely won’t eat too much into that total, but it could prove to be worthwhile in filling a widely-perceived roster hole on a potential AFC contender.

Commanders Activate TE Logan Thomas From PUP

August 22nd, 2022 at 6:01pm CST by Ben Levine

Logan Thomas is back on the practice field. The Commanders announced that they’ve activated the tight end from the physically unable to perform list.

Thomas suffered a torn ACL and MCL in early December, but he was recovering quickly enough that there was hope he would avoid the PUP. The Commanders ultimately gave him some extra time, and while he was back at practice today, Thomas still isn’t participating 11-on-11 drills. It’s uncertain if the tight end will be able to take the field for Week 1.

“I’d love to be out there Week 1, but I know myself and if I’m not ready to go or don’t feel like a full version of myself we can buy another week or two weeks,” Thomas told ESPN’s John Keim.

Thomas bounced around the NFL a bit before a breakout season in Washington during the 2020 season. That year, he finished with 72 receptions for 670 yards and six touchdowns. His production was down in six games last season, although that could have been attributed to a nagging hamstring injury that forced him to miss a chunk of games early on in the year. He ultimately finished the 2021 campaign with 18 catches for 196 yards and three touchdowns.

Washington hasn’t had much luck keeping tight ends on the field this preseason. John Bates is nursing a calf injury, while rookie fifth-round pick Cole Turner has been sidelined since the beginning of the month with a hamstring issue. To that, the Commanders made a handful of additional moves today to address the position. They signed tight end Jake Hausmann and claimed tight end Kendall Blanton off waivers from the Rams. The Commanders also placed tight end Eli Wolf on IR while releasing fullback/tight end Alex Armah from injured reserve. Defensive end Bunmi Rotimi also landed on IR today.

Bills Cut WR Tavon Austin

August 22nd, 2022 at 5:46pm CST by Ben Levine

The Bills released a pair of veterans today. The team announced that they’ve cut wideout Tavon Austin and punter Matt Haack.

Austin had his most productive season in years in 2021. In 13 games (three starts) with the Jaguars, the veteran hauled in 24 receptions for 213 yards and one touchdown. He ended up joining Buffalo in June, and there was hope that he’d be able to slide into a back-of-the-depth-chart role behind Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, and Isaiah McKenzie. That didn’t end up being the case, and with the veteran out of the picture, this will probably secure an opening day roster spot for at least one of Jake Kumerow or Jamison Crowder.

There’s a chance Austin could catch on elsewhere. While he’s bounced around the NFL a bit recently, he’s still seen time in nine NFL seasons, hauling in 244 receptions and 16 touchdowns. The veteran also has extensive special teams history, although it’s been a while since he’s been a full-time punt returner.

Haack’s spot on the roster always seemed to be in risk following the emergence of ‘Punt God’ Matt Araiza. Haack was the Bills’ punter in 2021, averaging a career-low 42.9 yards on his 52 punts. He spent the first four seasons of his career with the Dolphins, where he had an average punt distance of 44.7 yards.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/22/22

August 22nd, 2022 at 4:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

Teams have until 3pm CT Tuesday to cut their rosters from 85 to 80 players. Many franchises have started doing that early. Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: CB Jordan Brown

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Eagles Looking For More Safety Help?

August 22nd, 2022 at 3:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jaquiski Tartt has worked as a starter for most of his career, lining up as a 49ers first-stringer 64 times since being taken in the 2015 second round. The veteran defender, however, has not shown enough to be an Eagles roster lock yet. The other Eagles veteran safety, Anthony Harris, may not be locked in as a starter. The team appears on the lookout for more help.

Marcus Epps looks to be the only Eagles safety who has secured a roster spot, Geoff Mosher of InsidetheBirds.com notes. Epps, 26, stands in front of Harris and Tartt (both 30), but the Eagles should be expected to seek a starter upgrade alongside the fourth-year player. This would be the one starting spot the Eagles try to upgrade between now and Week 1, Zach Berman of The Athletic offers.

Harris and Tartt each signed one-year deals with Philadelphia this offseason, the former doing so to stay with the team. Harris worked as a full-time starter last season for the Eagles, but Mosher adds the team’s lack of speed at this position is viewed as a concern. Pro Football Focus graded Harris just outside the top 50 at safety last season; Tartt slotted outside the top 70.

Once attached to the franchise tag in Minnesota, Harris re-signed with Philadelphia on a lower-cost deal (one year, $2.5MM; $1MM guaranteed) compared to his 2021 contract. Tartt signed a one-year, $1.12MM pact with no guarantees. The longtime San Francisco starter is on the outside looking in right now, Berman adds in a roster prediction that has former UDFAs K’Von Wallace, Josiah Scott and Andre Chachere cracking Philly’s 53-man squad instead of Tartt.

Epps has missed time recently because of a back issue as well. The former Vikings sixth-round pick has also never been a full-time starter, seeing just eight such opportunities in three seasons. The Eagles used Harris and Rodney McLeod as their back-line tandem last season; McLeod is now with the Colts. Epps rising to a starting role has been in the works for a bit now.

The Eagles exited the draft with safety as a position of need, but Tartt joining Harris and Epps quieted that noise. Training camp, however, has reignited the push for an otherwise-strong Philly roster to have more help at the position. The Eagles should be expected to make another move here, per InsidetheBirds.com’s Adam Caplan.

Cardinals Acquire G Cody Ford From Bills

August 22nd, 2022 at 2:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

After three-plus years, the Bills are ending their run with Cody Ford. Buffalo is trading the former second-round pick to Arizona, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.

The Cardinals are sending a fifth-round pick for the Bills offensive lineman. Ford has played tackle and guard as a pro, having been stationed at the latter spot more recently. The Bills have announced the trade. Monday’s transaction will reunite Ford with Kyler Murray and fellow 2019 Oklahoma draftee Marquise Brown.

This move comes not long after a report indicated Ford was on Buffalo’s roster bubble. The former No. 38 overall pick, who enticed the Bills to move up two spots for him three years ago, had struggled to hold a spot in the Bills’ starting lineup. After starting for almost all of his 2019 rookie season, Ford saw his second campaign end early. But the ex-Sooner still started all seven games he played. In 2021, the Bills used Ford as a part-timer. His inability to play tackle as a swing backup affected this deal, per The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia (on Twitter).

This does add a younger blocker to an aging Cardinals offensive line. The team saw two of its interior O-line starters — guard Justin Pugh and center Rodney Hudson — consider retirement this offseason. Pugh is 32, while Hudson and right tackle Kelvin Beachum are 33. While Ford is far from a proven commodity, he is going into his age-26 season. It also marks the second straight offseason in which the Cards have traded a pick for a starter-level O-lineman; they sent the Raiders a third-rounder for Hudson and a seventh last year.

Pro Football Focus has never been impressed by Ford, rating him outside the top 60 at his position in each of his three seasons. Last season, PFF slotted Ford as the fourth-worst guard (among regulars) — a mark that came in one spot behind Cardinals starter Josh Jones. The team used a third-round pick on Jones in 2020 but added four-year Giants starter Will Hernandez — a 2018 second-round pick — this offseason.

Hernandez entered Monday viewed as the team’s right guard starter opposite Pugh, but the team is in need of reinforcements up front. Injuries have sidelined Justin Murray, Danny Isidora and rookie Marquis Hayes. Murray, a Cards regular starter during the 2019 and ’20 seasons, has not returned to regular work after missing most of last season due to injury.

To make room on their 85-man roster, the Cardinals released veteran wide receiver Marcell Ateman. The former Raiders backup signed with the Cards earlier this month.

Patriots Fielding Calls On T Isaiah Wynn

August 22nd, 2022 at 1:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Marred often by injuries, Isaiah Wynn‘s Patriots tenure looks to now include a position switch. Wynn has lined up at right tackle for most of this year, but his status as New England’s right-side starter may not be locked in.

The Patriots have taken calls on Wynn, according to Albert Breer of SI.com. The former first-round pick is going into his fifth-year option season. Being tied to a guaranteed $10.4MM salary will hurt Wynn’s trade value, but the Patriots are not averse to making moves involving contract-year players.

New England’s status near the bottom of the NFL’s cap-space hierarchy ($6.9MM in space; 28th in the league) is influencing trade interest, per Breer, who adds the Pats are interested in using one of their deeper positions to move money off their payroll. Nelson Agholor has come up here as well, but the former first-round wideout is tied to a $9MM base salary. And New England is now expected to be without second-round rookie wideout Tyquan Thornton for several weeks. Tackle might not qualify as a deep Pats position, however.

Wynn missed his entire rookie season, was out eight games in 2019 and six in 2020. Last season, Wynn suited up for 16 games. Pro Football Focus has consistently graded the Georgia product well when available, slotting him as a top-15 tackle in 2020 and a top-30 player at the position last year. Teams still view Wynn as a tackle-guard tweener, Breer adds. The Patriots have also seen some turnover on their O-line this offseason, having already traded a longtime guard anchor (Shaq Mason) and having let their other 2021 guard starter (Ted Karras) sign with the Bengals.

The Pats only picked up a fifth-round pick for Mason. A Wynn deal would seemingly not produce a great return, either, despite positional value. Moving Wynn would also be risky due to left tackle Trent Brown‘s injury-prone past. The Patriots have former third-round pick Yodny Cajuste (two rookie-year starts) and third-year blocker Justin Herron (10 career starts) as potential options if Wynn is not on the team. The Pats also have rookie Andrew Stueber on their NFI list; the seventh-round pick might miss his entire rookie year.

Vikings Release WR Albert Wilson

August 22nd, 2022 at 12:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Teams have until Tuesday to trim their rosters from 85 to 80 players. The Vikings included veteran wide receiver Albert Wilson in their second wave of cuts.

Minnesota added Wilson in late May, signing the former Kansas City and Miami pass catcher as a possible depth option. Nearly three months later, the partnership appears complete. The Vikings also waived defensive lineman Jullian Taylor with an injury designation.

Wilson, 30, returned to football in 2021 after making the decision to opt out in 2020. Working as a Dolphins part-time starter, the former UDFA caught 25 passes for a career-low 213 yards. More productive during his run with the pre-Patrick Mahomes-era Chiefs and in his early Dolphins years, after signing a three-year deal worth $24MM with Miami in 2018, Wilson has logged seven seasons as an NFL wideout.

The Vikings did not guarantee Wilson anything to sign, giving him a one-year deal worth $1.12MM. The team has K.J. Osborn in place as its top complement to Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, while the likes of Bisi Johnson and recent Day 3 picks Jalen Nailor (sixth round, 2022) and Ihmir Smith-Marsette (Round 5, 2021) complicating Wilson’s active-roster path.

Because Wilson is a vested veteran, he will bypass waivers and move back into free agency. Despite coming into the league in 2018, Taylor does not have sufficient service time. He will revert to the Vikings’ IR (in a transaction that could well preceded an injury settlement) if unclaimed. A former seventh-round 49ers pick, Taylor has not played since the 2019 season.

Latest On Buccaneers, Tom Brady

August 22nd, 2022 at 12:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

AUGUST 22: The drama surrounding Brady, on this front at least, appears over. Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback has returned to practice, staying on Bowles’ initial timetable.

AUGUST 21: Brady is expected to be back early this week, with Rapoport tweeting that Monday is his expected day to return to practice. Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson details that Brady was with family during his absence, and that no health concerns are at play.

AUGUST 19: Bowles struck a different tone on Friday when speaking on the subject, saying (via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times) that he knows “exactly when Tom is coming back,” though he again did not name an exact date. He added that the vagueness in his remarks is due to the fact that “something unforeseen” could lead to a delay in Brady’s return, but insisted once more that “I’m not worried, so I don’t know why anyone else would be worried.”

AUGUST 18: When Todd Bowles announced Tom Brady was making an unusual mid-training camp exit, which took place Aug. 11, the new Buccaneers HC said he and the future Hall of Fame quarterback had discussed this matter prior to camp. That said, a Brady return date remains elusive.

Bowles said Thursday he does not know when exactly the recently unretired passer will return to the Bucs, via Greg Auman of The Athletic (on Twitter). The plan remains for Brady to return after the Bucs’ second preseason game — against the Titans on Saturday — though the timetable being foggy represents a new wrinkle here. Tampa Bay wraps its preseason slate Aug. 27.

“We’ll see. We’ll talk about it next week. I’m not concerned about it right now,” Bowles said of Brady’s status. “We’re trying to practice against Tennessee and play a game. I said sometime after Tennessee. There’s no definitive date for me. We’ll keep in touch and find out.”

Brady, 45, is believed to be attending to personal matters, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link). The 23rd-year QB is in his third year in this Tampa Bay offense, which retained its play-caller (OC Byron Leftwich) despite Bruce Arians‘ surprise late-March retirement, and was not ticketed to play in the Bucs’ first two preseason games. The timing of this departure still qualifies this situation as one of the odder camp developments regarding a star player in recent memory. Brady has also not been available for questioning since the Dolphins’ tampering punishment — for speaking to Brady during his time with the Patriots and Bucs — surfaced.

The Bucs’ offseason shifted considerably on two Brady decisions — his February retirement and pre-free agency unretirement — with the team going from potentially retooling to making another run at a Super Bowl. Brady agreed to an offseason restructure as well, helping the Bucs create cap space to add more talent for 2022.

Set to be the oldest starting QB in NFL history, Brady is attached to just a $1.12MM base salary. His two Bucs contracts, however, have fully guaranteed him $75MM. Brady’s void years would begin to hit the Bucs in 2023, which features a $35MM-plus dead-money charge unless the parties agree to another extension before the ’23 league year begins. For now, however, the team remains in a clear contention window — whenever its starting quarterback returns.

Giants’ Kayvon Thibodeaux Sprains MCL

August 22nd, 2022 at 12:06pm CST by Adam La Rose

12:06pm: Thibodeaux did not escape the situation unscathed. Tests revealed the No. 5 overall pick suffered an MCL sprain, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Although Thibodeaux did not tear his ACL or meniscus, he is expected to miss at least three weeks. The Giants remain hopeful their top pick will be ready for Week 1, but it would not surprise if the organization exercised caution here.

Beavers was not as fortunate. The sixth-round pick suffered a torn ACL, the team confirmed. Beavers is the second Giants 2022 draftee to sustain that injury this summer, following fifth-round offensive lineman Marcus McKethan.

9:05am: The Giants won their preseason contest against the Bengals last night, but the main takeaway from the game was the injury scare regarding first-round rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux. The defensive end suffered a knee injury, but there are encouraging signs that no serious damage was done. 

Thibodeaux was sidelined after he was on the receiving end of a low cut block, and did not return to the game. After the contest was over, though, the fifth overall pick was seen walking without a limp, and said “I’m good. … We’re good. Good news” (video link via ESPN’s Jordan Raanan).

Likewise, there is “initial optimism” that the Oregon product has avoided anything serious, as detailed by Jeremy Bergan of NFL.com. More testing will be done today to gather further information, but the belief that Thibodeaux will not be unavailable for any extended period is significant news for himself personally and the Giants collectively.

Once labeled a favorite to be selected No. 1 overall in this year’s draft, the six-foot-five, 250-pounder had an underwhelming final college season and was considered a candidate to fall down the board. Instead, the Giants committed to him emerging as one of – if not the top – pass-rushers in the class, something which the team sorely needs after ranking 22nd in the league in sacks last season.

The news isn’t all good on the injury front for Big Blue, however. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweets that fellow rookie Darrian Beavers is likely to have suffered a major knee injury. More will be known later today for the sixth-round linebacker, but he will all-but assuredly miss significant time, keeping in line with the many injuries the Giants are currently dealing with. In the case of their top prospect, at least, the situation is an optimistic one.

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