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Broncos To Add DT Malcolm Roach

March 12th, 2024 at 12:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints-Broncos pipeline remains active, as Sean Payton prepares for his second season in Denver. The longtime New Orleans HC will bring in one of his former defensive linemen.

Malcolm Roach is heading to Denver on a two-year deal worth up to $8MM, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. The Broncos have two eight-figure-per-year contracts on their defensive line, but the team has some depth questions behind the Zach Allen–D.J. Jones duo. Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette notes Roach drew interest from the Rams, Cardinals, Bills and Bengals. Instead, he will continue playing under Payton.

Roach’s Saints role did not change much during his four-season Louisiana run. Starting five games in that time, Roach worked primarily as a rotational defensive lineman. Payton was in place when the Saints signed Roach as a UDFA; the Texas alum has only played for the Saints. Roach will join ex-college teammates Caden Sterns, P.J. Locke and Brandon Jones on Denver’s defense, with Payton also obviously being a familiar face.

Pro Football Focus viewed Roach as a lower-end D-tackle from 2020-22 but viewed him as an improved product last year, slotting the four-year veteran just outside the top 25 among interior D-linemen. Roach, 25, totaled a career-high 38 tackles (three for loss) last season while batting down three passes. Roach stands to help the Broncos in run defense, having logged those numbers last season despite missing five games. While skewed by a brutal start, the Broncos’ defense ranked 30th against the run last year.

Roach will join a Broncos team that saw 2022 starter Jonathan Harris hit free agency. Denver has Matt Henningsen still under contract, though 2022 fourth-rounder Eyioma Uwazurike‘s NFL future is in doubt after the gambling suspension he received last summer.

DaQuan Jones To Re-Sign With Bills

March 12th, 2024 at 12:07am CST by Sam Robinson

Up late determining his 2024 employment plan, DaQuan Jones does not intend to leave Buffalo. The veteran defensive tackle will recommit to the Bills on a two-year deal, according to his agency (Instagram link).

The Bills will give the 11th-year D-lineman a $10.5MM guaranteed on a contract that includes $16MM in total. Jones returned from a torn pectoral muscle late in the season and was off to a strong start before the October injury threw his second Buffalo slate off track.

A quality run-stuffing DT, Jones will receive almost the same amount of guarantees the Bills provided back in 2022. They gave the former Titans starter $10.6MM guaranteed two years ago. Despite Jones now set for his age-32 season, Buffalo saw enough over his two-year stay to reinvest.

Prior to going down in Week 5 — a rather disastrous outing for the Bills, who lost Matt Milano for the season in London as well — Jones rated third among DTs, per Pro Football Focus. He landed 20th among DTs in 2022. Despite suffering a torn pec, the 320-pound defender made it back in time for the team’s Week 17 game and then the playoffs. That may have gone a ways within the organization, though the Bills came into free agency with next to nothing in place at D-tackle.

Jones, who started 16 games for the Bills in 2022, has lined up as a first-stringer — in Tennessee, Carolina and Buffalo — 133 times. The Bills have at least one non-Ed Oliver answer at DT now; they need more. Tim Settle, Jordan Phillips and Poona Ford are unsigned for the 2024 season. Despite the Bills saying goodbye to longtime starters Jordan Poyer, Tre’Davious White and Mitch Morse, they will be keeping a 30-something regular in the fold.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/11/24

March 11th, 2024 at 10:51pm CST by Ely Allen

On the busiest transaction day of the NFL year, here are a few moves that maybe didn’t make the headlines:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Woerner is probably one of the bigger names on this list. After serving as a reliable run-blocking tight end with the 49ers for the duration of his rookie contract, Woerner earns a new three-year deal worth up to $12MM to head to Atlanta, according to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.

Brandel may be the next biggest deal on this list. After making five starts in 39 game appearances with the Vikings during his rookie deal, Brandel earned a new three-year, $9.5MM contract to remain in Minnesota. Quessenberry joins him as a depth lineman sticking around.

Lewis also gets to stick around on a multi-year deal, signing a two-year, $4MM deal to remain in Buffalo. A valuable special teamer, Lewis has done a good job of getting himself worked into the rotation on defense a good amount over the course of his rookie deal.

Olszewski earns another year in New York after solving a big issue on punt returns for the Giants last year. Baun heads to Philadelphia as a strong backup after starting 14 games for the Saints during his first four years in the league.

Bills To Re-Sign DE A.J. Epenesa

March 11th, 2024 at 4:50pm CST by Ben Levine

Buffalo has lost Leonard Floyd in the early going of the negotiating window, but the team will still have A.J. Epenesa moving forward. The latter has agreed to a two-year deal with Buffalo, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports. Epenesa will see $7MM in 2024 and could earn up to $20MM over the life of the pact, per Garafolo.

The 2020 second-round pick hit free agency after completing his rookie contract. The defensive end has spent his entire four-year career in Buffalo.

Epenesa hasn’t emerged into a starter in Buffalo, but he’s still served as an important member of the defensive line. The pass rusher has finished each of the past two seasons with 6.5 sacks while getting into about 40 percent of his team’s defensive snaps.

The 25-year-old finished this past season ranked 31st among 112th qualifying edge rushers, per Pro Football Focus. The site also gave him one of the highest positional grades for his coverage ability, although he also earned one of the lowest grades for his run defense.

With Floyd now out of the picture, the Bills can temporarily pencil Epenesa in opposite Greg Rousseau on the defensive line. Still, the team will surely look for another body to soak up some of those departed snaps, especially with Shaq Lawson also hitting free agency.

Bills Extend LT Dion Dawkins

March 11th, 2024 at 11:31am CST by Adam La Rose

The Bills made a number of cost-cutting moves recently, releasing several veterans. One mainstay who will not be leaving is left tackle Dion Dawkins, however. The veteran announced on Monday that he will remain in the fold in 2024 and beyond, while ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports a new deal is in place. The team has since announced the move.

The new accord is worth $60.5MM over three years, per Schefter. It will move Dawkins into fifth in terms of annual average value amongst left tackles (although David Bakhtiari‘s Packers tenure is expected to soon come to an end). Dawkins could thus find himself fourth in the LT pecking order shortly.

The 29-year-old was on the books for 2024 at a cap hit of $16.6MM. The coming campaign could have been a walk year as a result, but instead Dawkins will ensure he stays in Buffalo for the foreseeable future. He has played his entire career with the Bills, earning a Pro Bowl nod in each of the past three campaigns. Keeping him in the fold thus represented a logical priority for the team.

Buffalo enjoyed strong play up front last season, one in which the midseason OC change produced a notable commitment to the ground game. Joe Brady will remain in his coordinator post for 2024, so a repeat of the usage of running back James Cook should be expected. Of course, the Bills will be in the market for a new center after moving on from Mitch Morse, and depth will be needed with Ryan Bates having been traded. Dawkins will provide stability on the blindside, though.

The latter secured a $58.3MM extension in 2020, and he has managed to land an even larger accord four years later. Dawkins will remain a foundational member of the Bills’ offense in 2024 and beyond as the team transitions away from a number of pricey veterans in the immediate future. This re-up will no doubt affect Dawkins’ cap hit for this season, given Buffalo’s financial situation. In any event, he will be counted on for years to come as one of the league’s best-compensated O-linemen.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/8/24

March 8th, 2024 at 10:21pm CST by Ely Allen

Friday’s minor transactions from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota Vikings

Pittsburgh Steelers

Collier returns for a second chance in Arizona. After signing a one-year deal with the Cardinals almost a year ago, a biceps injury ended the 28-year-old’s season after only one start. He had impressed in camp and the preseason and will get another chance to do so in 2024.

Johnson was an exclusive rights free agent set to hit the open market next week. The Bears avoid tendering him by signing him to a new deal to remain in Chicago.

Bailey was set to be a restricted free agent but will no longer seek outside offer sheets after signing a new deal with Denver. He reportedly didn’t sign at the tender amount, agreeing to make $1.06MM next year.

Mundt came to Minnesota in 2022 with high hopes of expanding his game as a more complete tight end. With the Vikings, he’s upped his game as a receiver with 36 catches for 312 yards and two touchdowns. His head coach, Kevin O’Connell, calls him the NFL’s best TE3, and the team will pay him $2.5MM as a reward.

NFL Announces 2024 Compensatory Picks

March 8th, 2024 at 3:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

The NFL has awarded compensatory draft picks for teams in the 2024 draft. Based on an add/subtract formula that covers the 2023 free agency period, comp picks span from Round 3 to Round 7. The higher picks go to the teams that endured the most significant free agent losses.

This year, the NFL awarded 34 comp picks. The comp pick formula assigns picks to franchises who suffered the largest net losses, so teams that signed multiple free agents have a lesser chance of receiving picks. The CBA limits the total compensatory number to 32, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com, who notes the Cowboys, Jaguars and Packers qualified for an additional comp pick based on the net loss formula.

The updated NFL format also rewards third-round comp picks to teams that saw a minority assistant coach land a head coaching job or a minority front office exec become a GM. Teams receive two third-round picks for losing an assistant or FO staffer to a top job, but the picks do not come in the same draft. The 49ers’ pipeline here is still flowing and will continue to do so into the 2025 draft, with Ran Carthon landing the Titans’ GM job last year and DeMeco Ryans becoming the Texans’ HC. The Rams collected the first of their two third-rounders for the Falcons’ Raheem Morris hire. The Buccaneers do not receive a comp pick for Dave Canales‘ Panthers move due to the Latino staffer being Tampa Bay’s OC for just one season.

Sorted by round and by team, here are the league’s 2024 compensatory selections.

By round:

Round 3: Jaguars (No. 96 overall), Eagles (No. 97), Rams (No. 98)*, 49ers (No. 99)*

Round 4: 49ers (No. 132), Bills (No. 133), Ravens (No. 134)

Round 5: Saints (No. 167), Packers (No. 168), Saints (No. 169), Eagles (No. 170), Eagles (No. 171), Chiefs (No. 172), Cowboys (No. 173), Saints (No. 174), 49ers (No. 175)

Round 6: Bengals (No. 208), Rams (No. 209), Eagles (No. 210), 49ers (No. 211), Jaguars (No. 212), Rams (No. 213), Bengals (No. 214), 49ers (No. 215), Cowboys (No. 216), Rams (No. 217), Jets (No. 218), Packers (No. 219), Buccaneers (No. 220)

Round 7: Chargers (No. 253), Rams (No. 254), Packers (No. 255), Jets (No. 256), Jets (No. 257)

* = special compensatory selection

By team:

  • Los Angeles Rams: 5
  • San Francisco 49ers: 5
  • Philadelphia Eagles: 4
  • Green Bay Packers: 3
  • New Orleans Saints: 3
  • New York Jets: 3
  • Cincinnati Bengals: 2
  • Dallas Cowboys: 2
  • Jacksonville Jaguars: 2
  • Baltimore Ravens: 1
  • Buffalo Bills: 1
  • Kansas City Chiefs: 1
  • Los Angeles Chargers: 1
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 1

Coaching Notes: Lombardi, 49ers, Shula, Bills, Broncos, Titans, Saints, Wilkins

March 8th, 2024 at 11:33am CST by Sam Robinson

Mick Lombardi will resurface in San Francisco. The 49ers are hiring the former Raiders offensive coordinator, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. This marks a return trip for the second-generation NFL staffer. Lombardi worked on the 49ers’ staff from 2013-16, rising up to the quality control level during his first NFL gig. This came before Kyle Shanahan‘s arrival. Lombardi, 35, worked under Josh McDaniels in New England before being brought to Las Vegas as OC. Hours after the Raiders fired McDaniels, they canned Lombardi at the midseason point. Lombardi, who coached wide receivers and QBs in New England, does not have a specific title yet in San Francisco.

Here is the latest from the coaching ranks:

  • The Bills are not retaining Mike Shula for their 2024 staff. The veteran coach’s contract expired, per WGR 550’s Sal Capaccio, who adds the Bills will not renew the deal. Shula had served as a senior offensive assistant on the past two Buffalo staffs. Shula, 58, had previously served as OC for the Panthers and Giants. The Carolina OC years overlapped with Cam Newton‘s MVP season and the team’s Super Bowl 50 trek. Son of Don Shula, Mike has been an NFL assistant since 1988. Prior to coming to Buffalo, he was in Denver for two seasons as QBs coach under Pat Shurmur.
  • On the subject of the Broncos, they will replace defensive line coach Marcus Dixon with an in-house promotion. Denver will bump Jamar Cain up to D-line coach. A former college and high school staffer, Cain worked as a pass rush specialist last season, joining the team shortly after the Sean Payton trade.
  • The Titans have a special teams coordinator in place now. Colt Anderson is in place here. A former Eagles, Colts and Bills special-teamer in the 2010s, Anderson previously coached with Brian Callahan in Cincinnati, serving most recently as the Bengals’ assistant ST coach. The Titans also hired Scott Fuchs as assistant O-line coach and Steve Donatell as a defensive assistant. Donatell spent last season in Miami under Vic Fangio, who had worked with Steve’s father (Ed) for many years. Fuchs comes up from the college ranks, having spent 31 seasons at that level. He spent the past three years at Kansas, serving as the Jayhawks’ O-line coach.
  • The Saints promoted Jordan Traylor to assistant quarterbacks coach and have hired Keith Williams to coach wide receivers. Despite the Saints hiring Klint Kubiak as OC, they will retain a previous staffer in Traylor for this role. Traylor, 30, was a Payton hire who has been with the team five years. Williams spent the past three seasons with the Ravens, his first NFL gig.
  • Kevin Wilkins, whom the Giants fired just before the simmering Don Martindale-Brian Daboll feud boiled over, is following the former New York DC to Michigan, 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz tweets. Brothers Kevin and Drew Wilkins each worked under Martindale with the Giants and Ravens. Drew landed a job with the Patriots last month; Kevin will work as a defensive analyst at Michigan.

Texans, Bills Host DT Foley Fatukasi

March 7th, 2024 at 5:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

After the Jaguars ditched three defensive starters to create cap space earlier this week, one of them is already generating interest on the market. Foley Fatukasi has made two visits since his Jacksonville exit.

The Texans met with the veteran defensive tackle, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo, who adds that meeting took place Wednesday. The Bills brought the ex-Jets draftee to town today, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Other teams have expressed interest, per Garafolo, and it appears a deal could come together before the market opens.

Because the Jags released Fatukasi, he is a street free agent and does not need to wait until next week — as unrestricted free agents do — to speak with teams. Fatukasi, whom the Jags cut on his 29th birthday, has been a regular run-stopping presence in New York and Jacksonville. Pro Football Focus did not view the UConn alum as being worth the deal the Jags authorized (three years, $30MM), grading him as one of the league’s worst DTs in 2022 and 60th at the position last year. But teams appear to disagree with this assessment.

A strong run in New York created a good Fatukasi market in 2022. PFF graded the former sixth-round pick as a top-15 interior D-lineman in 2019 and ’20, making him one of the brightest spots during the grim Adam Gase Jets tenure. Viewed as an elite run defender at that point, Fatukasi is now trying to bounce back after the Jags stripped away some of their 2022 free agency pickups.

The Texans have an interesting opportunity, with not much in the way of funds tied up anywhere but along the offensive line and now at tight end — via Dalton Schultz‘s $12MM-per-year deal. DeMeco Ryans‘ defense ranked sixth against the run last season, and while the team has Maliek Collins signed for 2024, it lost pass-rushing DT Sheldon Rankins. The Bills have a bigger need here, with their Ed Oliver supporting cast almost entirely bound for free agency. DTs DaQuan Jones, Tim Settle, Jordan Phillips and Poona Ford are out of contract. The Bills, who were without Jones for much of the season, ranked 15th against the run last year.

Bills Bring Back QB Mitchell Trubisky, P Matt Haack; S Taylor Rapp Lands Extension

March 7th, 2024 at 9:12am CST by Ely Allen

MARCH 7: Garafolo’s colleague Tom Pelissero reports the Trubisky deal is two years in length and has a base value of $5.25MM. $2.75MM in guaranteed money is in place for 2024, and he can raise the value of the pact to $8.45MM via playing time and win incentives. Trubisky’s deal is thus far more valuable than Kyle Allen’s from last season, and the latter will likely be headed elsewhere.

MARCH 6: After being released from the Steelers over three weeks ago, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is headed back to Buffalo, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Trubisky left the Bills two years ago in order to compete for the starting job in Pittsburgh, but after falling dramatically on the depth chart since then, Trubisky found himself a free agent. Tim Graham of The Athletic was the first to report progressing talks of a reunion earlier this afternoon.

After leaving for the Steelers, Trubisky successfully won the starting job over then-rookie Kenny Pickett. In a Week 4 loss to the Jets, Trubisky was benched for the rookie out of Pitt and remained on the bench for most of the remainder of the year, except for two games during which Pickett was injured. This season, Trubisky was the first name called upon to start when Pickett got hurt again. He played in three consecutive games before eventually getting benched once again, this time in favor of Mason Rudolph.

During his previous stint in Buffalo, Trubisky signed knowing that he would serve as a backup to Josh Allen, resigning himself to a role learning under the same staff that molded Allen into an MVP candidate. He’ll return to the same role in 2024. Trubisky’s addition likely means the end of Kyle Allen‘s time in Buffalo. Allen made seven garbage-time appearances last year as the primary backup before heading to free agency this offseason. Practice squad reserve Shane Buechele was signed to a futures deal and should play a similar role next season.

The Bills also kept an important name in the secondary, signing safety Taylor Rapp to a three-year extension worth up to $14.5MM, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Rapp, formerly a full-time starter as a second-round pick for the Rams, functioned as a third safety for the Bills in 2023, sitting behind the veteran pair of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer. Rapp’s main playing time in Buffalo came as a starter in the four weeks that Hyde and Poyer missed due to injury.

With Hyde headed towards free agency and Poyer being released today, Rapp’s signing may deliver a glimpse of the Bills’ plans at safety moving forward. Some have even linked Buffalo to some of the best safety prospects in the draft like Minnesota’s Tyler Nubin or Miami’s Kamren Kinchens. Since both Hyde and Poyer will be 33 years old heading into the 2024 season, it makes sense that Buffalo is making plans to move on. Rapp represents one possible solution moving forward at 26 years old.

Finally, another reunion is happening in Buffalo, this one on special teams. Veteran punter Matt Haack signed a deal to return to Buffalo this year. Haack’s last full season came in 2022, when he served punting duties for the Colts, but he did play a game for the Browns this past year. The Bills re-signed current punter Sam Martin to a three-year, $6MM deal almost a year ago, so he’s still under contract for two more years.

Martin’s contract does have a potential out this offseason that would allow the team to save $1.25MM of cap space, so given the rest of their actions today, I wouldn’t rule out Haack coming in to replace Martin. For now, though, we’ll assume Haack is coming in to provide some camp competition for Martin this summer.

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