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Bradley Roby

DB Notes: Packers, Chinn, CJGJ, Roby, Rams

October 19th, 2023 at 9:43am CST by Sam Robinson

The Packers do not likely have a starting spot waiting for Eric Stokes upon his return. As we heard in June, the 2021 first-round pick is on track to return as a backup. Green Bay has Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas and Keisean Nixon as its top three corners, and unlike 2022, the team is not planning on changing Douglas’ position to accommodate a cornerback surplus. Douglas moving to safety appears a non-starter, per The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman. Last season, the Packers moved Douglas to a slot role to make room for the returning Alexander. After Stokes’ midseason Lisfranc injury, Douglas moved back to his more natural boundary position.

Stokes, who underwent foot and knee surgeries this offseason, remains on the Packers’ reserve/PUP list. The team designated him for return two weeks ago, setting his activation deadline at Oct. 24. Stokes was running at full speed in July and would have been ready to come back had multiple hamstring issues not slowed him during training camp, Schneidman adds. Stokes fared better as a rookie, when the Pack were down Alexander, than he did last season. Pro Football Focus graded Stokes outside the top 100 among corners last season, and this backup role does not present an ideal rebound opportunity.

Here is the latest from NFL secondaries:

  • Mentioned as a trade candidate last week, Jeremy Chinn now looks likely to finish his contract year in Carolina. The fourth-year Panthers safety sustained a significant quadriceps injury that ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter expects to sideline him for up to six weeks. Despite being a versatile cog who has been a Panthers regular throughout his career, Chinn has seen his playing time dip in Ejiro Evero‘s defense this season. After logging snap rates over 90% from 2020-22, the former Defensive Rookie of the Year runner-up has played 52% of Carolina’s defensive snaps. The Panthers prioritized Chinn as a foundational piece before last year’s deadline; his stock has fallen since.
  • Bradley Roby avoided the worst-case scenario after suffering a pectoral injury in Week 6. The recent Eagles addition sustained a pectoral strain, per NFL reporter Jordan Schultz, who adds the 10th-year cornerback will avoid IR. In the two games since being signed and quickly promoted to the 53-man roster, Roby has played 46% of Philadelphia’s defensive snaps. The Eagles have already lost their top slot corner, Avonte Maddox. Roby’s setback represents another blow for the defending NFC champions, but the 31-year-old cover man should be back fairly soon.
  • C.J. Gardner-Johnson is navigating a longer return timetable, suffering a torn pec in Week 2. The Lions safety, who led the NFL in INTs during his Eagles one-off last season, is believed to be months away from coming back — if he is to return at all — according to the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett. Pectoral tears often end players’ seasons, so it will be interesting if Gardner-Johnson becomes a true candidate to come off IR down the stretch — perhaps if Detroit makes the playoffs.
  • Rams corner Derion Kendrick faces two misdemeanor charges in connection with his recent gun arrest, Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times notes. Arrested Monday morning, Kendrick was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possessing a loaded firearm. While teams regularly deploy players after arrests, waiting for NFL suspensions to come down later, Kendrick did not practice with the Rams upon his release from custody. The 2022 sixth-round pick has started all six Rams games this year. Discipline should be expected, but until a ban surfaces, Kendrick will likely continue to suit up for the team.
  • In a Ravens workout that led to safety Andrew Adams being signed, Eric Rowe received an audition, per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. An eight-year veteran, Rowe spent the past four seasons with the Dolphins. Rowe, 31, signed a one-year, $1.32MM Panthers deal this offseason but did not make the team. Carolina released Rowe from its practice squad last month.

Eagles Place S Justin Evans On IR, Sign CB Bradley Roby To Active Roster

October 13th, 2023 at 4:50pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Eagles added Justin Evans in free agency as a starting-caliber option at the safety spot, and he has operated as a first-teamer to date. The veteran will be unavailable for an extended stretch, however, as the team announced on Friday that he has been placed on IR.

Evans made a return to the NFL game action for the first time since 2018 last year, playing 15 games for the Saints. His play in New Orleans earned him a one-year flier from the Eagles worth the veteran minimum. The 28-year-old had a path to notable playing time after both Marcus Epps and C.J. Gardner-Johnson departed in free agency, and he has started each of his four Philadelphia appearances. His absence will thus be felt on the team’s revamped secondary.

Being on injured reserve guarantees Evans will miss at least four weeks, adding further to the Eagles’ injury troubles amongst defensive backs. Reed Blankenship will remain in place at the free safety spot, but he will likely be joined by either veteran Terrell Edmunds or third-round rookie Sydney Brown in the starting lineup moving forward. Of course, the 5-0 Eagles could pursue a trade acquisition in the near future.

Philadelphia currently has just over $4.8MM in cap space, meaning a modest move could be made to address Evans’ absence. The team has already done so at slot corner, something made necessary by Avonte Maddox‘s torn pectoral muscle. That ailment has resulted in surgery and threatens to keep him sidelined for the remainder of the year. Veteran Bradley Roby was brought in as a replacement, and he will now find himself on the active roster.

The latter was promoted from the practice squad to fill the roster spot opened by the Evans IR move. Such a scenario was expected when Roby was first signed to the Eagles’ taxi squad last week. The 31-year-old played 25 snaps in his Philadelphia debut in Week 5 as a gameday elevation, and he will be in line to see a larger workload from the slot through the rest of the campaign.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/7/23

October 7th, 2023 at 6:46pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are the day’s minor transactions heading into Week 5:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Elevated: WR Xavier Malone

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Eagles To Sign CB Bradley Roby

October 3rd, 2023 at 4:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

4:46pm: This is a practice squad agreement, per to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane. While this will be a first for Roby, numerous veterans have taken the P-squad route to return to active rosters over the past four seasons. The plan indeed is for Roby to be bumped up to the 53-man roster at some point, ESPN.com’s Tim McManus adds.

3:58pm: Already rostering two 30-something cornerbacks, the Eagles spent Tuesday looking into another one. They brought in Bradley Roby for an audition, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

It looks to have gone well, with The Score’s Jordan Schultz reporting Roby is signing with the team. It is unclear just yet if this is an active-roster or practice squad agreement. Interest emerged from multiple teams, per Schultz, which should have been expected based on the corner’s experience. But the Eagles are going to give the nine-year veteran a shot.

The Saints released Roby on roster-cutdown day in August. The former first-round pick had been a free agent since. Roby, 31, has made 60 career starts but was an off-the-bench regular for much of his career, working as a Broncos sub-package corner for years. The Eagles have their top nickel corner, Avonte Maddox, out with a torn pectoral muscle.

Philadelphia made a substantial commitment to its 2022 starting duo — Darius Slay–James Bradberry — by extending Slay and re-signing Bradberry. Both are over 30, with Slay 32 and Bradberry turning 30 this offseason. This is the NFL’s only team to have two 30-something corners installed as regular starters. The Eagles placed Maddox on IR last month; he suffered the torn pec in Week 2. Maddox, who has operated as Philly’s primary slot corner for years, missed time due to separate injuries last season but was back in the playoffs. That timeline may not recur this year, with surgery having transpired. And the Eagles are adding a veteran to the equation.

New Orleans rostered Roby for two seasons, acquiring him from the Texans before the 2021 campaign. The Saints pivoted to younger options, in Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor, alongside ace Marshon Lattimore. Roby worked as both a New Orleans starter and a backup during his tenure with the team.

Roby has mostly worked as an outside cover man. His CB3 role in Denver’s former No Fly Zone secondary involved Chris Harris shifting from an outside spot to the slot in sub-packages. Roby worked alongside All-Pros Harris and Aqib Talib for four seasons in Denver, taking two interceptions back for TDs in 2016 to help the Broncos close with DVOA’s top-ranked pass defense but was not deemed a priority after his 2018 fifth-year option season. He then made his way to Houston for a two-year run as a starter.

While Bradberry has lined up outside for nearly his entire career, the Eagles shifted the former Panthers and Giants mainstay into the slot recently. This setup has helped cover for Maddox’s absence. The less experienced Mario Goodrich had filled in for Maddox after he went down, and the Eagles have also used rookie safety Sydney Brown inside. But Brown missed the NFC champions’ Week 4 game due to a hamstring injury. Bradberry, who re-signed on a three-year deal worth $38MM in March, had also taken slot reps during the Eagles’ training camp. With Bradberry temporarily on the inside, Josh Jobe has seen extensive work alongside Slay on the boundary.

Roby would stand to provide the Eagles with veteran insurance. He signed two contracts with the Texans, the second a three-year, $31.5MM deal. The Ohio State product played on that contract for two Saints seasons, being traded from Houston to New Orleans before the 2021 campaign. But the team cut bait ahead of the third year.

A foot injury sent Roby to IR last season, but he returned to finish out the year with New Orleans. Pro Football Focus viewed Roby as a middling corner in 2021 but graded him as a bottom-10 corner during his injury-abbreviated 2022 slate. The Eagles will hope he can display better form nearly a year out from that injury.

Saints Officially Set 53-Man Roster

August 29th, 2023 at 7:48pm CST by Ely Allen

The Saints welcomed back some old faces and said goodbye to others on their way towards setting their initial 53-man roster. Here are the moves the team made in their efforts to select the team they will open the season with:

Released:

Waived:

The veteran tight end James will have to continue his recent tour of the NFL. He, Holtz, and Krull fell victim to the reunion of New Orleans and former All-Pro Jimmy Graham.

On defense, Smith failed to make the roster after starting 11 games for the Giants last year. Roby is another player who was initially expected to contribute, but will have to pack up his locker.

With the emergence of rookie third-round pick Kendre Miller and the eventual return of Alvin Kamara, keeping Williams in the running backs room just wasn’t worth the roster spot.

On special teams, the third-year punter Gillikin lost the punting battle with undrafted rookie signee out of Miami (FL) Lou Hedley. The viral, jacked, tatted-up, Australian, 30-year-old rookie punter makes his first NFL roster as part of the Saints’ new-look special teams group.

Saints To Release CB Bradley Roby

August 29th, 2023 at 10:59am CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints have informed Bradley Roby he will not be on their 53-man roster, Jordan Schultz of The Score tweets. The former first-round pick has been with the team since the 2021 season.

Going into his age-31 season, Roby was attached to a deal the Saints reworked last year. With the 10th-year cornerback being a vested veteran, he is off that contract and heading to free agency. The Saints will pick up more than $3.3MM in cap savings by making this move.

As they transitioned into a rebuild, the Texans dealt Roby’s three-year, $36MM contract to the Saints just before the 2021 season. Roby worked as a key backup in Sean Payton’s final season with the team but moved into a role as a regular starter last season. Despite this offseason bringing a reunion between Roby and former Broncos defensive coordinator Joe Woods — hired to replace the Ryan Nielsen-Kris Richard co-DC setup of 2022 — the former Super Bowl 50 cog tweeted he will not be part of this Saints edition.

Roby sustained a foot injury in October of last year, and Pro Football Focus graded his abbreviated season poorly. The advanced metrics site slotted Roby in the bottom 10 among qualified corners, marking a significant step down for the experienced cover man. Roby should generate some interest on the market, but his age will limit his value.

The Ohio State product served as part of Denver’s famed No Fly Zone secondary in the mid-2010s. Working with Chris Harris and Aqib Talib at corner for those teams, Roby helped the Broncos win a Super Bowl. The Broncos did not re-sign Roby, leading to a two-year Texans stay. Roby has made 60 career starts, though that is somewhat deceiving due to the veteran’s work as a regular alongside base-set starters Harris and Talib in Denver.

New Orleans has recent Day 2 draftees Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor in place alongside perennial Pro Bowler Marshon Lattimore. They also added Lonnie Johnson Jr. this offseason. It will be interesting to see if Roby lands with a contending team in the near future.

Saints Place CB Bradley Roby On IR

October 25th, 2022 at 4:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints have played their past two games without Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore. They will play at least their next four without veteran starter Bradley Roby.

New Orleans placed Roby on IR on Tuesday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Roby suffered a foot injury in last week’s Saints-Cardinals game and needed to be carted off the field. Roby has been a Saints regular for the past two seasons, since New Orleans acquired him from Houston, and has started six games this year. The Saints re-signed wide receiver Keith Kirkwood to take Roby’s roster spot.

Roby, 30, re-signed with the Texans in 2020 but ended up being dealt to the Saints a year later. After playing 42% of New Orleans’ defensive snaps in 2021, he has be on the field for 78% of the team’s 2022 defensive plays. This will be a blow to a Saints team already dealing with trouble at corner.

An abdominal injury has sidelined Lattimore for the past two games; he remains on New Orleans’ active roster. The team has also played without rookie Alontae Taylor for much of this season and was without Paulson Adebo against Arizona. This left a skeleton crew, one including ex-Roby Broncos teammate Chris Harris, in the team’s Week 7 loss to the Cardinals. Roby’s injury obviously makes Lattimore and Adebo’s availability critical going forward, with the Cards’ win having dropped the Saints to 2-5 — their worst mark through seven games since 2005.

After making a name alongside Harris and Aqib Talib on Denver’s Super Bowl-winning defense, Roby has started 56 career games but has been a regular in all 120 he has played as a pro. The former first-round pick has allowed a 50% completion rate and limited quarterbacks to an 83.3 passer rating as the closest defender. Pro Football Focus, however, has the veteran boundary corner rated just inside the top 100 at the position this season.

Eagles Acquire DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson From Saints

August 30th, 2022 at 11:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints are trading one of their top defensive backs to the Eagles. C.J. Gardner-Johnson is heading to Philadelphia, according to Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The teams have since announced the deal.

Gardner-Johnson, who has played both safety and patrolled the slot for the Saints, staged a hold-in effort earlier in camp as he angled for an extension. Talks broke down, and the Saints are bailing on the talented defender.

It did not take too much in the way of compensation for this trade to go down. The Eagles are sending a 2023 fifth-round pick and a 2024 sixth to the Saints for Gardner-Johnson and a 2025 seventh, Pelissero tweets. The 2024 sixth will be the lower of the Eagles’ two selections in that round.

The Eagles actually see Gardner-Johnson as a safety, Pelissero tweets. He will pair with Marcus Epps, who finished a strong training camp, at the position. A report earlier this month indicated the Eagles could acquire a safety, but Gardner-Johnson has largely excelled in the slot prior to this trade.

This will make for an interesting transition for the fourth-year veteran, especially coming in a contract year. Safety, however, as the Jamal Adams, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Derwin James deals have shown, has proven to be a more lucrative position than slot corner.

Tuesday’s deal also marks the third splash trade for the Eagles this offseason; the Saints have now been involved in two of those moves. This trade comes after the move to acquire A.J. Brown and the deal to land a future first-rounder from the Saints. No word about a potential Gardner-Johnson extension has come down. The Eagles could wait here, but Jalen Hurts‘ rookie contract also offers some flexibility. The team also has no notable cash tied to the safety position, having just released Anthony Harris.

While Pro Football Focus has rated Gardner-Johnson outside the top 50 at cornerback in each of the past two years, he carved out a regular role amongst a veteran Saints DB corps. The former fourth-round pick has also become known for his ability to rile up opposition — both opponents and teammates, considering Michael Thomas‘ 2020 team-imposed suspension came after he threw a punch at Gardner-Johnson. It will be interesting to see how he fares in Philly.

The Saints have assembled a deep secondary in recent years, and NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan tweets rookie Alontae Taylor is one of the players — along with Bradley Roby and former slot P.J. Williams — who have worked inside replacing Gardner-Johnson during camp. The team also already has a big-ticket cornerback deal (Marshon Lattimore) in a secondary that also now includes Tyrann Mathieu‘s $9MM-AAV deal.

Saints Rework CB Bradley Roby’s Deal

March 15th, 2022 at 8:22pm CST by Ben Levine

Bradley Roby is staying in New Orleans. The Saints have agreed to a new deal with the cornerback, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). This move will help the Saints open up some cap space while also assuring that Roby stays with the organization.

After reworking his contract last offseason, Roby’s cap hit was set at $10.169MM in 2022. Roby also has void years in 2023, 2024, 2025 at $25MM per year. 

Roby is still playing out a three-year, $36MM deal he signed with the Texans in 2020. He was traded to New Orleans a year later for a third- and sixth-round pick, and he ended up seeing time in 14 games (one start) for his new team. Roby’s first season with the Saints saw him collect 23 tackles, one sack, five passes defended, and one interception.

The Saints were one of the most cash-strapped teams in the NFL, but they’ve already done some work to get under the cap. Of course, the organization is also in the hunt for Deshaun Watson, so it’s not surprising that the front office continues to look for ways to clear money from their books.

Saints Open Up Extra Cap Space

September 18th, 2021 at 10:04am CST by Ben Levine

The Saints have found a couple of ways to open extra cap space in recent weeks. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the organization reworked the contracts of cornerback Bradley Roby and defensive end Marcus Davenport.

[RELATED: Texans Trade Bradley Roby To Saints]

Roby’s restructuring comes on the heels of his trade to New Orleans earlier this month. After the Saints sent a 2022 third-round pick and a conditional 2023 choice to the Texans, they converted $847K of the player’s salary into a bonus. This move created a bit more than $677K in cap space. Per Aaron Wilson (on Twitter), this transaction was possible thanks to the Texans’ willingness to cover $7.58M of Roby’s salary and roster bonus.

The veteran’s cap hold in 2021 is now $1.18MM, but it’s a whopping $10.169MM in 2022. Roby also now has void years in 2023, 2024, 2025 at $25MM per year. The 29-year-old’s suspension ended earlier this week, meaning he should make his season debut this weekend.

Davenport also helped his team open some extra cap by converting $1.35MM of his salary into a bonus. Similar to Roby, the defensive end will also get three void years tacked on to the end of his contract. The move opens up about $1.08MM in cap space. Davenport started New Orleans’ season opener, collecting three tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack. He was placed on IR this week after suffering a shoulder injury.

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