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Minor NFL Transactions: 5/11/21

May 11th, 2021 at 3:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Cleveland Browns

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tennessee Titans

Saints Eyed Terrace Marshall Jr. In Round 2

May 8th, 2021 at 2:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

After trading down twice in Round 2, the Panthers planned to select BYU tackle Brady Christensen at No. 60 and add LSU wideout Terrace Marshall Jr. with a subsequent trade-up shortly after. However, the Saints eyed Marshall at No. 60, Darin Gantt of Panthers.com notes, prompting the Panthers to change course and select Marshall earlier than initially planned. Carolina drafted Marshall at No. 59, reuniting him with offensive coordinator Joe Brady. The Saints then took Ohio State linebacker Pete Werner at 60. Marshall, who now joins Panthers vets D.J. Moore and Robby Anderson, played a key role for LSU’s national championship team alongside Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase and last season after those future first-rounders left. He totaled 23 touchdown grabs from 2019-20. New Orleans cut No. 2 receiver Emmanuel Sanders this offseason and has been unable to find a steady complement for Michael Thomas for a few years. The team still has Tre’Quan Smith, who is entering a contract year, and used a seventh-round pick on a wideout (South Alabama’s Kawann Baker). The Panthers ended up getting Christensen at No. 70, trading up three spots to land him.

  • The Saints are reuniting with C.J. Leak, a staffer who once worked as their Combine scout. The Texans dismissed Leak as their assistant director of pro personnel in February, but veteran NFL reporter Aaron Wilson tweets Leak will return to the Saints. Houston hired Leak in 2018. Leak previously spent two years with New Orleans.

This Date In Transactions History: 2014 NFL Draft

May 8th, 2021 at 10:10am CST by Ben Levine

The first-round of the 2014 NFL Draft took place seven years ago today. While there was plenty of hype heading into the first day of the draft, surely no one expected the first round to produce so many accomplished players. Among the 32 individuals who heard their name called on May 8, 2014, 17 of those players eventually earned Pro Bowl nods. That’s not shabby.

From a transactions standpoint, there were five trades completed on that Thursday evening, with the Browns and Vikings starring in a handful of the deals. While there were whispers that the first-overall pick could get traded from Houston, the Texans ultimately kept the selection and drafted Jadeveon Clowney at No. 1.

The first trade of the evening was between the Browns and Bills. Cleveland wanted to move back to select a cornerback, so they sent No. 4 to Buffalo for No. 9, a future first, and a future fourth. The Bills ended up selecting wideout Sammy Watkins. As the first round continued to progress, the Browns apparently didn’t feel comfortable staying at No. 9. So, they packaged that selection and a future fifth-round pick to the Vikings for the No. 8 pick, and they proceeded to select cornerback Justin Gilbert. The Vikings selected linebacker Anthony Barr with their new selection.

The Saints later got into the action, acquiring the No. 20 pick from the Cardinals to select receiver Brandin Cooks. New Orleans sent Arizona No. 27 and No. 91, with the Cards selecting safety Deone Bucannon with that first-round selection.

The Browns made another trade later in the night, this time in pursuit of a quarterback. Cleveland traded No. 26 and No. 83 to Philly in exchange for No.22…and the Browns ultimately selected quarterback Johnny Manziel. Really, the writing was on the wall with that selection; the team had previously drafted two other QB busts (Brandon Weeden, Brady Quinn) at that same spot in the draft.

The last trade of the evening once again featured the Vikings. Minnesota acquired the No. 32 pick from the Seahawks for picks No. 40 and No. 108. The Vikings used their new selection on quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

It was surely an entertaining evening, with Cleveland serving as the star of the show. However, fast forward to today, and Browns fans are surely still shaking their head at how everything unfolded.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/7/21

May 7th, 2021 at 7:06pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Today’s minor moves on a quiet Friday:

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Smith is a bit of an interesting story as the Steelers drafted him in the sixth-round back in 2019, as a linebacker. The Northern Illinois recently made the position switch to fullback after getting cut by a few teams, as Mike Triplett of ESPN.com tweets.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/6/21

May 6th, 2021 at 3:52pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: WR Juwan Green

Indianapolis Colts

  • Waived: CB Will Sunderland

Las Vegas Raiders

  • Signed: G Marquel Harrell

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Claimed (from Cowboys): DB Kemon Hall

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

  • Claimed (from Cowboys): CB Saivion Smith
  • Signed: TE Nick Guggemos

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Claimed (from Cowboys): LB Ladarius Hamilton
  • Signed: CB Nate Brooks

Tennessee Titans

Lions TE Josh Hill To Retire

May 4th, 2021 at 4:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite signing with the Lions earlier this offseason, veteran tight end Josh Hill intends to retire, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets.

Hill will walk away from the NFL having spent his entire playing career with the Saints. New Orleans, however, cut its long-tenured pass catcher this offseason. The soon-to-be 31-year-old vet signed a one-year, $1.2MM Lions deal soon after.

While the Saints frequently shopped for pass-catching tight ends, bringing in the likes of Coby Fleener, Ben Watson and Jared Cook in attempts to fill the Jimmy Graham-created void, Hill stuck around. The 2013 UDFA out of Idaho State played in 117 Saints games, catching 116 passes for 1,071 yards and 15 touchdowns. Hill followed former Saints tight ends coach Dan Campbell to Detroit. Campbell’s team will now need to look at other solutions, having not drafted a tight end.

The Lions brought in Darren Fells for a workout earlier Tuesday. This certainly explains why the team is interested in another tight end. Detroit has first-round pick T.J. Hockenson signed through at least 2022, but Hill was poised to work as his backup. His exit could point to a near-future Fells addition.

Saints Sign 11 UDFAs

May 4th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints have assembled their initial group of undrafted free agents. The four-time reigning NFC South champions agreed to post-draft deals with 11 rookies, per a club announcement. Here is New Orleans’ full list:

Bronson received interest from several teams but agreed to sign with the Saints. New Orleans will guarantee $140K of Bronson’s base salary, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. In addition to the base guarantee, Bronson will collect a $25K signing bonus. A Temple transfer who began his college career back in 2015, Bronson was a three-year Huskies contributor.

A tight end out of Iowa State, Soehner will receive a $120K base salary guarantee, veteran NFL reporter Aaron Wilson tweets. Scott will vie for a backup job with the likes of Latavius Murray, Ty Montgomery and Dwayne Washington. The Indiana product, however, will head to the NFL after seeing his production drop in each of his three college seasons. Scott’s 1,137 freshman-year rushing total came with a 5.0 yards-per-carry figure. By 2020, Scott averaged just 3.6 per tote in Big Ten play.

One of two ex-Orange players to join the Saints in this class, Cooney may have a clear path to a roster spot. The Saints released longtime punter Thomas Morstead this offseason and do not have another punter on the roster. Should Cooney make the Saints’ 53-man roster, he would join Riley Dixon as Syracuse punting alums in the NFL.

Details On Winston's Incentives With Saints

May 2nd, 2021 at 9:17pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg
  • The Saints just drafted Notre Dame passer Ian Book in the fourth-round, but he’s not likely to be involved in the competition between Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill to become Drew Brees‘ successor. We heard when Winston re-upped with the Saints on a one-year deal with $5.5MM guaranteed worth “up to” $12MM that he had significant incentives, and now we have the details on those incentives. They come courtesy of Nick Underhill from NewOrleans.Football (Twitter link). There are too many to list here, but Winston will get $62.5K for every game where he plays more than 50 percent of the snaps up to $1MM. He’ll get $500K if he throws 20 touchdown passes ($1MM if he hits 25). He’s got an incentive for pretty much everything, including another $500K if the Saints make the playoffs and he plays 70 percent of the snaps.
  • We heard earlier this weekend that Richard Sherman was talking with a handful of teams, including the Seahawks about a potential reunion. The 49ers, Saints, and Raiders are apparently also in the mix, but it sounds more and more like a return to Seattle is a distinct possibility. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll told the media on Saturday that he had talked to Sherman “quite a few times” this offseason about coming back to where he started his career, via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com. Sherman, now 33, only played in five games last season but was a second-team All-Pro in 2019. He was with Seattle from 2011-17, making four Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams as part of their legendary ‘Legion of Boom’ defenses. Sherman has said previously he’d sign after the draft, so something could materialize here soon.

2021 NFL Draft Results By Round

May 1st, 2021 at 5:57pm CST by Zachary Links

The 2021 NFL Draft is here! We’ll be keeping tabs here, from pick No. 1 through No. 259:

Round 1

1) Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence, QB (Clemson)
2) New York Jets: Zach Wilson, QB (BYU)
3) San Francisco 49ers (from Texans via Dolphins): Trey Lance, QB (North Dakota State)
4) Atlanta Falcons: Kyle Pitts, TE (Florida)
5) Cincinnati Bengals: Ja’Marr Chase, WR (LSU)
6) Miami Dolphins (from Eagles): Jaylen Waddle, WR (Alabama)
7) Detroit Lions: Penei Sewell, OT (Oregon)
8) Carolina Panthers: Jaycee Horn, CB (South Carolina)
9) Denver Broncos: Patrick Surtain II, CB (Alabama)
10) Philadelphia Eagles (from Cowboys): DeVonta Smith, WR (Alabama)
11) Chicago Bears (from Giants): Justin Fields, QB (Ohio State)
12) Dallas Cowboys (from 49ers via Dolphins via Eagles): Micah Parsons, LB (Penn State)
13) Los Angeles Chargers: Rashawn Slater, OT (Northwestern)
14) New York Jets (from Vikings): Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL (USC)
15) New England Patriots: Mac Jones, QB (Alabama)
16) Arizona Cardinals: Zaven Collins, LB (Tulsa)
17) Las Vegas Raiders: Alex Leatherwood, OL (Alabama)
18) Miami Dolphins: Jaelan Phillips, DL (Miami)
19) Washington Football Team: Jamin Davis, LB (Kentucky)
20) New York Giants (from Bears): Kadarius Toney, WR (Florida)
21) Indianapolis Colts: Kwity Paye, DL (Michigan)
22) Tennessee Titans: Caleb Farley, CB (Virginia Tech)
23) Minnesota Vikings (from Seahawks via Jets): Christian Darrisaw, OT (Virginia Tech)
24) Pittsburgh Steelers: Najee Harris, RB (Alabama)
25) Jacksonville Jaguars (from Rams): Travis Etienne, RB (Clemson)
26) Cleveland Browns: Greg Newsome II, CB (Northwestern)
27) Baltimore Ravens: Rashod Bateman, WR (Minnes0ta)
28) New Orleans Saints: Payton Turner, DE (Houston)
29) Green Bay Packers: Eric Stokes, CB (Georgia)
30) Buffalo Bills: Gregory Rousseau, DL (Miami)
31) Baltimore Ravens (from Chiefs): Jayson Oweh, DE (Penn State)
32) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Joe Tryon, LB (Washington)

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2021 NFL Draft Results: Team By Team

May 1st, 2021 at 4:49pm CST by Zachary Links

The 2021 NFL Draft has arrived! As the picks come in, we’ll keep track of each team’s haul right here:

[RELATED: 2021 NFL Draft Order By Round]

Arizona Cardinals

Round 1: No. 16 Zaven Collins, LB (Tulsa) (signed)
Round 2: No. 49 Rondale Moore, WR (Purdue) (signed)
Round 4: No. 136 (from Ravens) Marco Wilson, CB (Florida) (signed)
Round 6: No. 210 (from Ravens) Victor Dimukeje, LB (Duke) (signed)
Round 6: No. 223 (from Vikings) Tay Gowan, CB (Central Florida) (signed)
Round 7: No. 243 James Wiggins, S (Cincinnati) (signed)
Round 7: No. 247 (from Bears through Raiders) Michal Menet, C (Penn State) (signed)

Atlanta Falcons

Round 1: No. 4 Kyle Pitts, TE (Florida) (signed)
Round 2: No. 40 (from Broncos) S Richie Grant (Central Florida)
Round 3: No. 68 Jalen Mayfield, OT (Michigan) (signed)
Round 4: No. 108: Darren Hall, CB (SDSU) (signed)
Round 4: No. 114 (from Broncos) Drew Dalman, C (Stanford) (signed)
Round 5: No. 148 Ta’Quon Graham, DT (Texas) (signed)
Round 5: No. 182 Adetokunbo Ogundeji, DE (Notre Dame) (signed)
Round 5: No. 183 Avery Williams, CB (Boise State) (signed)
Round 6: No. 187 Frank Darby, WR (Arizona State) (signed)

Baltimore Ravens

Round 1: No. 27 Rashod Bateman, WR (Minnesota) (signed)
Round 1: No. 31 (from Chiefs) Jayson Oweh, DE (Penn State)
Round 3: No. 94 (from Chiefs) Ben Cleveland, G (Georgia)
Round 3: No. 104 Brandon Stephens, CB (SMU)
Round 4: No. 131 Tylan Wallace, WR (Oklahoma State) (signed)
Round 5: No. 160 (from Cardinals) Shaun Wade, CB (Ohio State) (signed)
Round 5: No. 171 Daelin Hayes, LB (Notre Dame) (signed)
Round 5: No. 184 Ben Mason, FB (Michigan) (signed)

Buffalo Bills

Round 1: No. 30 Gregory Rousseau, DL (Miami) (signed)
Round 2: No. 61 Carlos Basham Jr., DE (Wake Forest) (signed)
Round 3: No. 93 Spencer Brown, OT (Northern Iowa)
Round 5: No. 161 (from Raiders) Tommy Doyle, OT (Miami (Ohio) (signed)
Round 6: No. 203 Marquez Stevenson, WR (Houston) (signed)
Round 6: No. 212 (from Saints via Texans) Damar Hamlin, S (Pittsburgh) (signed)
Round 6: No. 213 Rachad Wildgoose, CB (Wisconsin) (signed)
Round 7: No. 236 (from Panthers) Jack Anderson, G (Texas Tech) (signed)

Carolina Panthers

Round 1: No. 8 Jaycee Horn, CB (South Carolina) (signed)
Round 2: No. 59 (from Browns) Terrace Marshall Jr., WR (LSU)
Round 3: No. 70 (from Eagles) Brady Christensen, OT (BYU) (signed)
Round 3: No. 83 (from Bears) Tommy Tremble, TE (Notre Dame) (signed)
Round 4: No. 113 Chuba Hubbard, RB (Oklahoma State) (signed)
Round 5: No. 158 Daviyon Nixon, DT (Iowa) (signed)
Round 5: No. 166 (from Titans) Keith Taylor, CB (Washington) (signed)
Round 6: No. 204 (from Bears) Shi Smith, WR (South Carolina) (signed)
Round 6: No. 222 Thomas Fletcher, LS (Alabama) (signed)
Round 7: No. 232 (from Titans) Phil Hoskins, DT (Kentucky) (signed)

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