HEADLINES

Month: September 2024

Bills Sign WR Chase Claypool, DE Dawuane Smoot

May 3rd, 2024 at 11:29am CST by Adam La Rose

The Bills continue to be active in the post-draft free agent market. Buffalo announced on Friday that the previously-reported agreement with linebacker Deion Jones has become official. The team has also added wideout Chase Claypool as well as defensive end Dawuane Smoot, though. All three players are attached to one-year deals.

Claypool showcased considerable potential during his first two seasons in the league. Operating as a key member of the Steelers’ offense, the former second-rounder posted 1,845 combined yards and 13 total touchdowns between the 2020 and ’21 campaigns. Things have not gone according to plan since, however, with a trade to the Bears in 2022 not producing the desired impact.

Claypool made just 18 catches in 10 games with Chicago, and he was on the move once again this year when he was traded to the Dolphins. The 25-year-old Canadian’s Miami stint produced only four receptions in nine games, and the team is in the market for a WR3 upgrade. Claypool visited the Seahawks in April, but to little surprise that did not yield a pre-draft agreement. Buffalo will bring him in ahead of offseason practices and training camp and in doing so provide him the opportunity to carve out a roster spot.

The Bills’ receiver room looks much different with Gabe Davis having departed in free agency prior to the trade which sent Stefon Diggs to the Texans. Buffalo traded down to the No. 33 spot in the draft and used that pick on Keon Coleman, and the team followed up that move by signing Quintez Cephus. Claypool will compete with the latter for a depth spot in the receiver pecking order this summer.

Smoot is likewise headed to Buffalo not long after meeting with another team. The 29-year-old recently visited the Texans, but he will instead look to earn a roster spot with the Bills. Smoot delivered a strong outing in 2021 (10 starts, six sacks), but an Achilles tear suffered the following year hurt his market value. Playing out a one-year deal last season, he posted just one sack while logging a rotational defensive role.

Buffalo has Von Miller on the books through 2027, and the team has retained both A.J. Epenesa and Greg Rousseau recently. The former re-signed on a two-year deal before the latter had his 2025 fifth-year option picked up. Smoot will look to earn a complementary place behind those three returnees in Buffalo this season, his first spent outside of Jacksonville.

The Bills entered Friday with only $2.8MM in cap space, much of which will be needed to sign their rookie class. While none of the Jones, Claypool or Smoot deals will be particularly lucrative, they will nevertheless use up much of the team’s remaining financial resources available until the post-June 1 release of Tre’Davious White frees up more spending power.

Chiefs Decline WR Kadarius Toney’s Fifth-Year Option

May 3rd, 2024 at 8:45am CST by Adam La Rose

Kadarius Toney is on track to remain with the Chiefs this season, but his future beyond that point is uncertain. The ex-Giant receiver’s fifth-year option has been declined, per ESPN’s Adam Teicher.

[RELATED: Fifth-Year Option Tracker]

Toney would have cost $14.35MM in 2025 had Kansas City picked up his option, so it comes as little surprise the team has elected against doing so. The 25-year-old had a season to forget in 2023, finding himself on the injury report 19 weeks out of 21 (a matter of contention by the end of the postseason) and frequently struggling with drops. In all, Toney totaled just 169 yards and one touchdown on 27 catches.

Midway through his second season in the league, the Florida product was dealt to Kansas City in a move underscoring his disappointing tenure with New York. Things have not gone according to plan with the Chiefs so far, but head coach Andy Reid has expressed confidence in Toney playing a role in the team’s offense in 2024. With the coming season doubling as his walk year, it will be interesting to see how he performs.

The Chiefs won a second straight Super Bowl last season, but they did so without a consistent or efficient passing game. Tight end Travis Kelce will remain the team’s top receiving target for at least two more years, but it came as no surprise that the team has emphasized WR additions this offseason. Marquise Brown was signed in free agency on a one-year deal, and Kansas City moved up in the first round of the draft to select Xavier Worthy.

Both of those players are positioned to have a notable impact in 2024, something which may not be the case for Toney. The team still has fellow wideouts Justin Watson, Skyy Moore and Rashee Rice in the fold (although the latter’s future is currently in question). Staying healthy will be an obvious priority for Toney, and doing so could create a path to playing time in 2024. If that does not turn out to be the case, however, he will likely make his first trip to free agency without much fanfare.

Steelers To Decline RB Najee Harris’ Fifth-Year Option

May 2nd, 2024 at 10:03pm CST by Adam La Rose

A report from January indicated the Steelers would likely pick up running back Najee Harris‘ fifth-year option. The team has instead gone in the other direction, per multiple reports. Harris is thus on track for free agency next offseason.

[RELATED: Fifth-Year Option Tracker]

As is the case with all backs drafted early, Harris faced massive expectations upon arrival in Pittsburgh. The Alabama product earned a Pro Bowl nod as a rookie, totaling 1,200 rushing yards while also hauling in 74 receptions. Over the past two seasons, Pittsburgh’s offense has regressed in the passing game but Harris’ ground production has remained steady.

The 26-year-old racked up 1,034 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in 2022, recording one more yard and one more score on the ground this past season. Harris has, however, done so while logging a substantial workload and struggling with efficiency. His yards per carry average sits at 3.9 for his career, and he has logged 978 touches through three years. Especially given the market at the RB position, concerns related to his durability may have informed the Steelers’ decision.

Pittsburgh would have owed Harris $6.79MM next season by picking up the option. Today’s move leaves that off the table, although ESPN’s Brooke Pryor reports the team is still open to working out a deal keeping him in place beyond 2024. Needless to say, much will depend on Harris’ performance this season as he shares time with Jaylen Warren.

The latter played sparingly as a rookie in 2022, but he took on a notable role last season. Warren averaged 5.3 yards per carry while adding 61 receptions for 370 yards in the passing game. That has led to calls for the former UDFA to receive a larger share of the Steelers’ offense than Harris, and it will be interesting to see how new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith divvies up the work between the two. Given the team’s heavy investments up front during this year’s draft, Pittsburgh is set up for a ground-heavy attack.

While this decision creates a degree of uncertainty in the backfield, the same is true under center entering the 2024 season. The Steelers have also declined Justin Fields‘ option, leaving he and projected starter Russell Wilson on track for free agency next offseason. How Pittsburgh’s offense takes shape – and the degree to which Harris is involved – will be a key storyline to follow.

Falcons Attempted To Acquire Jets’ No. 10 Pick

May 2nd, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Falcons provided one of the draft’s largest surprises in the first round. Atlanta used the No. 8 selection on quarterback Michael Penix Jr., a move which raised eyebrows given the team’s free agent investment in Kirk Cousins. That was not the only move the Falcons were prepared to make in the first round, however.

Atlanta’s efforts to move up the top-10 order were, understandably, rejected. The way the QB board fell still allowed the team to add Penix as a long-term Cousins successor, though. Many had pointed to the Falcons as a candidate to make the draft’s first defensive addition with the eighth pick, but that still would have been a possibility with a trade to acquire another Day 1 selection.

On that note, a behind-the-scenes team video from the Jets shows that Atlanta was interested in trading for New York’s top pick (No. 10 overall). The Jets turned down the Falcons’ interest, although they ultimately moved back one spot after trading places with the Vikings. Atlanta’s Penix selection has been criticized – including by Cousins himself, initially – for not providing immediate help to the team in 2024, something another first-rounder would have done.

In the aforementioned video, Jets general manager Joe Douglas makes it clear the Falcons wished to keep the eighth overall pick while adding No. 10. The latter selection would have come at a massive price, of course, and acquiring it likely would have required a package involving future Day 1 capital. Moving back into the top 10 would, on the other hand, have given Atlanta a free choice of the defensive prospects in the 2024 class.

While the Falcons could be speculatively connected to a number of players on that side of the ball, ESPN’s Matt Miller notes that a source pegged Atlanta’s considerations at No. 8 as Penix, Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner and Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy less than one week before the draft. Murphy went 16th overall to the Seahawks, while the Vikings traded up to select Turner one spot later.

After drafting Penix, Atlanta made four straight selections on the defensive side of the ball (including two D-linemen and one edge rusher). Those players will be counted on as rookies more than Penix – provided Cousins is healthy in 2024 – but the same would of course have been true of a prospect added at No. 10. This case is another which will profile as an interesting ‘what if’ scenario as the performances of the 2024 class play out over time.

Chargers Sign WR DJ Chark

May 2nd, 2024 at 9:43pm CST by Ben Levine

DJ Chark is catching on with his fourth team in four years. The free agent wideout has agreed to a deal with the Chargers, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Chark will be signing a one-year deal worth up to $5MM, per Rapoport. The veteran wide receiver visited the organization prior to the draft.

The former second-round pick spent the first four seasons of his career with the Jaguars, including a 2019 campaign where he compiled 1,008 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He couldn’t put up the same volume in 2020, and he hit free agency following an injury-riddled 2021 campaign.

Still, Chark managed to garner a $10MM contract from the Lions that offseason, and he bounced back with 30 catches for 502 yards in 2022. He got a one-year, $5MM deal with the Panthers last offseason and put up similar numbers, finishing with 35 catches for 525 yards and five scores.

After moving on from both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams this offseason, the Chargers have been connected to several of the remaining veteran WRs on the market. In addition to Chark, the team also expressed interest in Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Considering the team’s depth chart, this latest move shouldn’t take them out of the running for further reinforcement.

The team’s current receivers room is led by 2023 first-round pick Quentin Johnston, and the team is still rostering Josh Palmer. The organization recently used a second-round pick on Ladd McConkey, and they also added rookies Brenden Rice and Cornelius Johnson in the seventh round (along with three UDFAs at the position). That makes Los Angeles a solid landing spot for Chark, who could improve his market value receiving passes from Justin Herbert. The free agent acquisition should also have a bit of a head start with the offense, as he played under current Chargers WRs coach (and former Jaguars WRs coach) Sanjay Lal when the two were in Jacksonville.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/2/24

May 2nd, 2024 at 9:25pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Deemed international roster exemption: LB David Ojabo

Minnesota Vikings

The Ravens carved out an extra roster spot after having been granted an international roster exemption for linebacker David Ojabo. The NFL allows teams to carry an extra international player on their roster as long as the individual “is a person whose citizenship and principal place of residence are outside the United States and Canada” and has “a maximum of two years of United States high school experience.”

Normally, this is reserved for undrafted players, with many of those players entering the league via the NFL International Pathway Program. However, the Ravens got creative with Ojabo, who is a former second-round pick. The linebacker was born in Nigeria and grew up in the United Kingdom, and he only came to the United States when he was 17. The Michigan product’s NFL career has been highlighted by injuries, with Ojabo being limited to only five appearances through two seasons in Baltimore.

The move allows the Ravens to now carry 91 players on their offseason roster.

Rams Sign 16 UDFAs

May 2nd, 2024 at 8:54pm CST by Ben Levine

The Rams had a number of late-round picks last weekend, with the organization adding six rookies on the final day of the draft. The team has added even more young depth to the roster, as the organization announced the signing of 16 undrafted free agents:

After adding one wide receiver in the draft (Jordan Whittington in the sixth), the Rams have added three more rookies at the position. JJ Laap had a standout career at DIII Cortland, finishing with more than 3,000 receiving yards and 32 touchdowns. Drake Stoops didn’t truly break out until this past season at Oklahoma, when he basically doubled his career stats by finishing with 84 catches for 962 yards and 10 touchdowns. Sam Wiglusz put himself on the NFL radar after transferring from Ohio State to Ohio in 2022. In two seasons with the Bobcats, Wiglusz hauled in 129 catches for 1,537 yards and 14 touchdowns.

After drafting one defensive back in the draft (Kamren Kinchens in the third round), the team added five more rookies to the secondary via free agency. Jaylen McCollough had a strong five-year career at Tennessee, including a 2023 campaign where he 58 tackles and three interceptions. Kenny Logan Jr. also spent his entire college career at one school, collecting 383 tackles and six interceptions in 59 games at Kansas.

Saints Sign 16 UDFAs

May 2nd, 2024 at 8:34pm CST by Ben Levine

After adding seven rookies in last weekend’s draft, the Saints have added a long list of undrafted free agents to their roster. The team announced the signing of 16 UDFAs:

  • Kyler Baugh, DT (Minnesota)
  • Millard Bradford, S (TCU)
  • Matthew Hayball, P (Vanderbilt)
  • Sincere Haynesworth, C (Tulane)
  • Kyle Hergel, G (Boston College)
  • Dallin Holker, TE (Colorado State)
  • Jermaine Jackson, WR (Idaho)
  • Trajan Jeffcoat, DE (Arkansas)
  • Lawrence Johnson, DB (SE Missouri St.)
  • Jacob Kibodi, RB (LA Lafayette)
  • Nate Latu, DE (Oklahoma State)
  • Nouri Nouili, G (Nebraska)
  • Rico Payton, CB (Pittsburgh State)
  • Kyle Sheets, WR (Slippery Rock)
  • Isaiah Stalbird, LB (South Dakota State)
  • Mason Tipton, WR (Yale)

Jermaine Jackson got $160K in guaranteed money to catch on with the Saints, per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. After finishing the 2022 campaign with more than 1,000 receiving yards, the Idaho product was limited to only 593 yards in 2023. However, he took on a larger special teams role, returning 18 kickoffs and 18 punts (including two punt returns for touchdowns). He’ll join a rookie receiver class that also includes fifth-round pick Bub Means and UDFA Kyle Sheets.

Isaiah Stalbird also got a significant payment from the Saints. Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston reports that the linebacker got a $10K signing bonus plus $100K in guaranteed salary. The SDSU standout finished his college career with 80 tackles, three sacks, and five pass breakups in 2023, and he also drew the eye of scouts during his Pro Day (which likely explains the lofty guarantees). The Saints used a fifth-round pick on Texas LB Jaylan Ford.

Jakeem Grant Attending Eagles Rookie Minicamp

May 2nd, 2024 at 8:07pm CST by Ben Levine

After sitting out the past two seasons due to injury, Jakeem Grant will be looking to resume his career in Philadelphia. The former All-Pro special teamer will be attending the Eagles rookie minicamp, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 in Houston.

It wasn’t too long ago that Grant was one of the league’s top returnmen. He earned his first All-Pro nod in 2020 after returning 29 punts for 330 yards and one touchdown for the Dolphins. That season also coincided with his best offensive showing, as the part-time wideout finished the year with career-highs in receptions (36) and receiving yards (373).

He earned another All-Pro spot in 2021 after splitting the season between Miami and Chicago. He finished the year with another 300-plus punt return yards and a touchdown, and he also set a career-high with 539 kick return yards. In total, Grant has scored six career special teams tackles (four on punts, two on kicks), and he’s returned 119 punts and 110 kickoffs.

Grant signed a three-year, $14MM deal with the Browns prior to the 2022 campaign, but he didn’t end up getting into a single game with his new squad. An Achilles tear ended his 2022 season before it began, and a ruptured patella tendon wiped out his 2023 campaign.

Now, he’ll be hoping to restart his career in Philly. Second-round cornerback Cooper DeJean and fifth-round wideout Ainias Smith are assumed contenders for return spots with the Eagles. The team is also rostering veteran Parris Campbell, who returned eight kickoffs for the Giants last season. Grant will hope to parlay his minicamp appearance into a real contract, and he would then compete with that trio in training camp.

Saints Decline Payton Turner’s Fifth-Year Option

May 2nd, 2024 at 6:45pm CST by Ben Levine

As expected, the Saints won’t be committing to Payton Turner beyond the 2024 campaign. According to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team, the Saints have declined the defensive lineman’s fifth-year option.

Today was the deadline to pick up the fifth-year option on 2021 first-round picks. That commitment would have locked Turner into a $13.39MM salary for the 2025 campaign. Instead, the defensive lineman will hit free agency following the 2024 season.

Things obviously haven’t gone as planned for Turner in New Orleans, with the Houston product being limited to only 15 games across three seasons. He was limited to only five games as a rookie thanks to a shoulder injury, but he managed to stay relatively healthy during his sophomore campaign. That season, Turner found himself in and out of the lineup, finishing the season with 16 tackles and a pair of sacks in eight games.

This past season, the defensive lineman landed on injured reserve after suffering a turf toe injury in Week 1. He didn’t return until January, and he ended his third NFL season with only two appearances.

With the Saints pairing free agent acquisition Chase Young with long-time Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan, Turner doesn’t have a clear path to playing time in 2024. There’s a chance the Saints look to save $2.3MM against the cap and let the former first-round pick pursue a fresh start elsewhere.

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