HEADLINES

Kenny Clark, Packers Have Discussed Extension

June 11th, 2024 at 8:36pm CST by Ben Levine

Kenny Clark is set to hit free agency following the 2024 campaign, and the Packers have naturally engaged in conversations with one of their defensive leader. The veteran defensive tackle told reporters today that there have been “ongoing” talks between the two sides (via Ashley Washburn of TMJ4 News in Milwaukee).

The former first-round pick inked a four-year, $70MM deal in 2020 that’s set to expire at the end of the season. Clark has earned two of his three career Pro Bowl appearances while playing on that extension, with the defensive tackle collecting 15.5 sacks while only missing one game over that three-year span.

Pro Football Focus was generally higher on the player earlier in his career, although they’ve still ranked him as an above-average interior defender in recent years. After finishing 2023 with career-highs in sacks (7.5), tackles for loss (nine), and QB hits (16), he was graded 32nd among 130 qualifying interior defenders.

Clark ranks top-10 in Packers history in TFLs and QB hits, and he’s top-20 in sacks and forced fumbles. Considering his track record with the organization, the 28-year-old is focused on finishing his career in Green Bay.

“Oh yeah, 100 percent,” Clark said (h/t CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell). “I love it here. I love my teammates. I love the organization. Hopefully everything will work out.”

When Clark inked his extension in 2020, he was the 12th-highest paid defensive player in the NFL. Now, his AAV is ranked only 17th at his own position. If Clark wants to be paid as a top-10 interior defender, he’ll be eyeing an average annual salary of $22.5MM. OverTheCap is currently projecting that the DT franchise tag will be valued at $22.1MM next offseason.

Clark will be 29 at the end of his contract, making him relatively young for a second-time free agent. That might help garner him the extra years and the extra money on his next pact. If Clark gets his way, that next contract will come from Green Bay.

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/11/24

June 11th, 2024 at 8:24pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transactions:

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Lions

New England Patriots

  • Claimed off waivers (from Lions): LB Steele Chambers
  • Waived: LB Jay Person

Harrison Hand brings 27 games of experience to Atlanta. The former fifth-round pick spent the first two seasons of his career with the Vikings before spending the 2023 campaign in Chicago, where he collected 12 tackles and one forced fumble in four games (one start). Meanwhile, fellow cornerback Craig James has seen time in 23 games since entering the NFL in 2018. After going without a regular-season appearance in 2021 and 2022, James got into a pair of games with the Jets last season.

Randy Gregory No-Shows Start Of Buccaneers Minicamp

June 11th, 2024 at 7:37pm CST by Ben Levine

Randy Gregory‘s first year in Tampa Bay hasn’t gotten off to the best start. The veteran edge rusher was a no-show for the first day of mandatory minicamp, with coach Todd Bowles declaring it an unexcused absence.

[RELATED: Randy Gregory Files Lawsuit Against NFL, Broncos]

“It’s disappointing when anybody is not here but we’ll deal with it,” Bowles said (via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times). “It’s minicamp and we’ll go accordingly.”

Gregory joined the Buccaneers earlier this offseason, signing a one-year pact that could be worth up to $5MM. The signing reunited the pass rusher with ex-Cowboys assistant George Edwards. The two worked together in Dallas from 2020-21, when Edwards served as a senior defensive assistant. Edwards is now in charge of an OLB grouping that’s supposed to include Gregory.

The beginning of the veteran’s career was define by suspensions. While Gregory has generally avoided trouble in recent years, the player recently filed a lawsuit against the NFL and the Broncos, where he played for one-plus seasons. Gregory claimed that he’s been fined more than $500K over the past year-plus for taking medications that include THC. The suit alleges discrimination, with Gregory claiming he was denied a therapeutic use exemption for this medication before being slapped with a $533K fine. Bowles declined to say whether the player’s absence was related to the lawsuit.

Of course, Gregory will also be subject to fines for missing practice, with Stroud noting that the player could face $100K in penalties. Fortunately for the Buccaneers, the team has a relatively deep group of outside linebackers that includes recent second-round pick Chris Braswell.

Commanders Sign Second-Round CB Mike Sainristil

June 11th, 2024 at 6:31pm CST by Ben Levine

The Commanders have signed one of their three second-round picks. The team announced that they’ve signed second-round cornerback Mike Sainristil.

Sainristil had a unique path to the the NFL, as the Michigan product spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career as a wide receiver. He peaked in 2021, when he hauled in 22 receptions for 312 yards and two touchdowns. He switched to cornerback in 2022 and immediately established himself as one of the team’s top defenders. Over the past two years, he collected 102 tackles, three sacks, and seven interceptions. Six of those picks came this past season, including the clinching interception during Michigan’s National Championship win.

Following a 2023 campaign where the cornerback earned first-team All-American honors, the Commanders used the 50th-overall pick on Sainristil. The cornerback was one of the team’s three second-round selections, with Sainristil coming in between defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton and tight end Ben Sinnott.

Sainristil played mostly in the slot at Michigan and will likely see a similar role with the Commanders. 2023 second-round pick Quan Martin is around to provide the rookie with some competition for that spot.

Sainristil is only the fifth member of the Commanders’ 10-man draft class to sign a rookie contract. The team’s entire draft class includes:

Cowboys Sign DE Marshawn Kneeland, Complete Draft Class

June 11th, 2024 at 5:47pm CST by Ben Levine

The Cowboys have completed their draft class signings. The team announced that they’ve signed second-round defensive end Marshawn Kneeland.

The defensive lineman spent five years at Western Michigan, collecting 148 tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss, and 13 sacks. He earned second-team All-MAC honors this past season after setting career-highs in tackles (57) and sacks (4.5). That performance helped make him the 56th-overall pick, with Kneeland representing the sixth defensive end off the board.

With Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence in place, the Cowboys won’t need to lean on the rookie in 2024. Kneeland will likely be competing with 2022 second-round pick Sam Williams for any leftover snaps.

Kneeland was the last of the Cowboys’ eight draft picks to sign. The rest of the team’s draft class includes:

Cowboys Audition CBs DeAndre Baker, Gareon Conley

June 11th, 2024 at 4:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

Neither DeAndre Baker nor Gareon Conley‘s initial NFL runs lasted too long. Both first-round picks did not play a fourth NFL season, but each wound up in the UFL. Spring leagues have provided a springboard for second chances, and the Cowboys — who have led the way in value gained from the recent batch of American minor football leagues — are looking into both players.

NFL teams cannot sign UFL players until next week, as the merged league’s championship game is set for Sunday, but workouts are permitted this week. Several UFLers are receiving chances with NFL teams, and ESPN.com’s Todd Archer indicates the Cowboys are taking a look at Baker and Conley at their minicamp this week.

A 2017 Raiders first-round pick, Conley will turn 29 later this month. He has not played in an NFL game since Week 15 of the 2019 season. Conley spent the 2020 season on the Texans’ IR list. Houston had acquired Conley via trade from Oakland in October 2019. The Raiders had used the former No. 24 overall pick as a starter in every game that season leading up to the trade deadline but unloaded him for a third-round pick. This came early during the Jon Gruden-Mike Mayock years; Conley arrived during the Raiders’ final Reggie McKenzie-run draft.

Like Conley, Baker wound up with a second team after washing out early with the club that drafted him. An arrest led the Giants to waive Baker, a 2019 first-round pick, before the 2020 season. Robbery charges against the young cornerback ended up being dropped, and the Chiefs took a flier on the struggling defender. Baker played in 10 Chiefs games from 2020-21; the team waived him in August 2022. Baker allowed six touchdown passes as the closest defender in a 15-start rookie season.

Both Baker, 26, and Conley caught on with the D.C. Defenders before the inaugural UFL season. Conley intercepted two passes this season, while Baker landed on the All-UFL team last week. Neither player played in the XFL or USFL in 2023. The Cowboys have benefited considerably from the latter league, with both KaVontae Turpin and Brandon Aubrey becoming Pro Bowlers in their first seasons in Dallas. Aubrey earned first-team All-Pro recognition in his Cowboys debut.

Dallas is also working out the UFL’s tackles leader, Willie Harvey Jr., per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. The St. Louis Battlehawks defender totaled 76 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles and nine tackles for loss this season. Harvey, 28, previously saw NFL time with the Browns from 2019-21, playing in just four games as a backup. Cleveland cut Harvey after its 2022 training camp. The Cowboys will see if Harvey’s UFL work has made him a better candidate for an NFL role.

Dolphins Sign Round 2 T Patrick Paul

June 11th, 2024 at 3:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

As offensive line injuries have piled up for the Dolphins under Mike McDaniel, the team is again hoping for the best with Terron Armstead. The veteran left tackle has battled various maladies in Miami but has delivered quality play when available.

Armstead opted to return for a 12th NFL season, and the Dolphins have right tackle Austin Jackson signed long term as well. Jackson impressed last season but missed almost all of the 2022 campaign due to injury. This made the draft a key window for the team to invest up front, and the Dolphins did by using a second-round pick on Patrick Paul. The Day 2 investment is now signed.

The Dolphins announced they have come to terms with Paul on his second-round rookie deal, which will run through 2027. This year’s steady gains on the guarantee front will benefit Paul, whom the Dolphins chose 55th overall. Based on where the Texans went for Blake Fisher at No. 59, Paul stands to be the first player chosen 55th overall to see part of his Year 3 base salary guaranteed. Houston guaranteed 4% of its second-round tackle’s 2026 base.

Paul primarily played left tackle at Houston, which moved from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12 ahead of his final college season. The talented blocker impressed regardless, finishing as a first-team All-Big 12 tackle a year after earning first-team All-AAC acclaim in 2021 and ’22. Second-team All-America honors poured in for Paul, who started 27 games at left tackle over the past two seasons. Paul also made three LT starts for the Cougars as a freshman in 2019.

Despite Paul’s college body of work, ESPN’s Scouts Inc. did not have him graded as a Day 2 prospect; he checked in 132nd on that list. The Dolphins disagreed, and Armstead’s run of injuries points to the rookie potentially being needed in 2024.

The team also may have the option of keeping Paul on the developmental track. Miami re-signed swing tackle Kendall Lamm to a one-year, $2.5MM deal this offseason. Lamm made eight starts last year, mostly filling in for Armstead, who missed seven games. With Armstead on a year-to-year track and Lamm a veteran backup, Paul has a clear path to being a Dolphins starter in the not-too-distant future.

Saints Working Out WR Russell Gage, S Roderic Teamer

June 11th, 2024 at 2:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

As recent UFL players are emerging on the workout radar, NFL teams also use minicamp to occasionally audition veteran free agents. The Saints are doing so, bringing in a former Falcons regular looking to rebound.

Russell Gage‘s three-year, $30MM Buccaneers pact did not go well, and he missed all of last season with an injury. Gage excelled on his Falcons rookie contract, however, and the Saints will take a look at the NFC South lifer. The veteran slot receiver joins veteran safety Roderic Teamer as players working out at Saints minicamp, New Orleans.football’s Nick Underhill tweets.

A ruptured patellar tendon sustained last August knocked Gage out for the 2023 season. Brought in to complement Mike Evans and Chris Godwin after the Antonio Brown addition predictably ended poorly, Gage did not justify his contract in 2022, either. While Gage did make some contributions by posting a 426-yard, five-touchdown season in Tom Brady‘s finale, he did not match his best Falcons showings while attached to an eight-figure-per-year contract.

Gage’s 2022 numbers, however, came in 13 games; the former sixth-round pick missed time due to a hamstring injury. The Bucs still gave Gage a slight pay cut during the 2023 offseason, though the team increased his guarantee figure in the process. The team declined a 2024 Gage option this offseason, sending him to free agency.

With an Atlanta team that had seen extended Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley unavailability stretches during the early 2020s, Gage stepped in as a key Matt Ryan target. The LSU alum posted 786 yards and four touchdowns in 2020, teaming with Ridley while Jones battled a chronic hamstring issue, and added 770 yards and four scores in 2021 — as Ridley left the team midway through the season. The Saints will evaluate Gage’s form ahead of his age-28 season.

New Orleans released Michael Thomas after a spate of injuries and did not make a major addition to their wideout group this offseason. The team did add Equanimeous St. Brown and use a fifth-round pick on Bub Means, but the Chris Olave–Rashid Shaheed duo still leads the way in New Orleans. A.T. Perry also flashed during his rookie season. As the team shifts to a Klint Kubiak-run offense, more receiving help is on the radar.

Teamer, 27, has made 11 career starts. The former Chargers UDFA found a role with the Raiders, but the team moved on following a November DUI arrest. Teamer’s arrest came years after he incurred a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. Teamer, however, is a New Orleans native who attended college at Tulane. His local team will see about a second chance.

The Saints roster a more acclaimed New Orleans native (Tyrann Mathieu) but released Marcus Maye this offseason. Jordan Howden, a 2023 fifth-round pick, operated as Maye’s primary replacement last season. A Teamer addition would undoubtedly be for depth purposes.

Commanders, Lions, Packers, Ravens Interested In K Jake Bates

June 11th, 2024 at 1:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

As expected, Jake Bates‘ UFL season has generated NFL interest. A number of teams are in on the recent spring/summer league specialist, whose previous NFL path did not include any game action.

The Michigan Panthers kicker has received interest from the Commanders, Lions, Packers and Ravens, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. All four teams have requested meetings with Bates, per Wilson, and ESPN.com’s John Keim notes the Commanders will be the first team to host the young specialist. That meeting is set for today.

Washington’s kicker need formed recently, after the team released offseason pickup Brandon McManus after a lawsuit alleging sexual assault emerged. The Commanders have already signed kicker Ramiz Ahmed, but the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala notes the team is looking to hold a competition between the recent signee and another option. The team also auditioned Andre Szmyt on Tuesday, per Jhabvala. Szmyt kicked for the UFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks this season.

With the UFL’s regular season ending, NFL teams are free to hold workouts. UFLers can be added next week, after the league’s weekend championship game. Considering the success the Cowboys have enjoyed with USFL players in recent years — including All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey, a summer 2023 addition — several of the new UFL’s top players will land opportunities to attend NFL training camps. Bates will almost definitely be one.

Bates, whom the Texans cut after barely a week during training camp last year, caught attention for making multiple 60-plus-yard field goals early this season. This included a 64-yarder. The long-range makes placed the Michigan kicker back on the NFL radar, and his second chance figures to feature a more thorough look. That said, Bates proved shakier down the stretch of the UFL season. He missed field goals five field goals over the Panthers’ final four games; that followed a two-miss performance in an April Michigan-Memphis matchup. Overall, Bates went 21-for-28 on field goals this season.

The Lions were connected to the in-state UFL team’s kicker early during the season, and the team used multiple kickers (Riley Patterson, Michael Badgley) in 2023. Detroit re-signed Badgley this offseason and added UDFA James Turner. But the team has been looking into adding another piece here, and Bates’ leg strength certainly caught attention.

Anders Carlson remains the frontrunner to kick for the Packers, but special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia mentioned a potential spring league addition (via The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman) before training camp. Green Bay’s roster already houses two other kickers — Greg Joseph, Jack Podlesny — so a Bates addition would certainly be interesting from a roster-allocation standpoint ahead of training camp. Carlson went 27-for-33 last year but missed four extra points and then missed a kick in the Packers’ narrow divisional-round loss to the 49ers.

It would obviously surprise if Bates ended up in Baltimore, given that the Ravens employ arguably the best to ever do it. Justin Tucker is going into his 13th NFL season. Bates, 24, stands to land somewhere soon. His Houston work last summer does not make it a lock he will be one of the 32 kickers in Week 1, but the UFL work will give him a shot.

Pats’ Matt Judon Addresses Contract Status

June 11th, 2024 at 11:55am CST by Adam La Rose

Last month, Matt Judon made it clear his absence from the voluntary portion of offseason workouts would not continue into mandatory minicamp. The Patriots’ top edge rusher is indeed present for the final aspect of the team’s offseason program.

[RELATED: Rhamondre Stevenson Closing In On Patriots Extension?]

Judon staged a hold-in during training camp last summer before a contract resolution was found. That has left him as a pending free agent due $7.5MM in 2024. Talks on an extension – one which would no doubt come with a raise – have taken place this offseason, though nothing appears to be imminent. In spite of that, Judon’s stance on his financial status suggests a repeat of 2023 should not be expected.

“I’m just gonna get ready to play,” the four-time Pro Bowler said during an appearance on The Rich Shertenlieb Show. “And you know, you kind of don’t – you kind of keep throwing tantrums, tantrums, tantrums, and then you don’t come out there and do what you’re supposed to do? It kind of gets old real fast, you know. I ain’t really trying to do that… Because that, last year, that stuff was trash. I ain’t really like that.”

Of course, Judon’s potential leverage with respect to any further contract-related absences is limited compared to last season. The 31-year-old was held to just four games due to a biceps injury, and as a result his four sacks were his lowest single-season total since his rookie campaign. In his previous two New England seasons, though, Judon racked up 28 sacks. That production makes his accord a rather team-friendly one, something he is aware of but not looking to change.

“Maybe they didn’t know what I was gonna be in four years,” Judon added when referring to his original four-year, $54.5MM Patriots deal. “Maybe they knew exactly what I was gonna be, and it’s at a discount. That’s just how it happens. The money will come. It’ll come if I’m good enough, right? If they value what I do… I think my kids and stuff are gonna be set up for the rest of their life, [with] how much I have already been paid. So I’m gonna be all right whatever I get paid.”

The former fifth-rounder is set to carry a $14.68MM cap hit this season, and an extension could lower it while providing Judon with added security. Even if that does not take place, though, a smoother training camp process should be in store for team and player this summer.

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