Bradley Roby

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/13/21

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Las Vegas Raiders

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Texans Trade Bradley Roby To Saints

The Texans are trading cornerback Bradley Roby to the Saints (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The Texans will receive a 2022 third-round pick and a conditional 2023 choice in the swap (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). Meanwhile, as reported on Thursday morning, the Texans will cover $7MM of Roby’s salary this season while the Saints pay the remaining ~$1.8MM.

Roby was hit with a six-game suspension in December for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. He’s already served five of those games, so he’ll be eligible to play for the Saints in Week 2 when they take on the Panthers.

In ten games (all starts), Roby notched 37 tackles, one interception, a fumble recovery, and seven passes defended. Even though he was briefly deactivated in November, the veteran stood as the Texans’ best corner.

Now, the 29-year-old will jump into a Saints secondary that badly needs reinforcements. Between Roby and newcomer Desmond Trufant, the Saints are in a much better position that they were just last week. Together, they’ll team up with Marshon Lattimore, Ken Crawley, and Paulson Adebo. Meanwhile, free safety P.J. Williams should be able to stick to his natural position.

The Saints will assume the rest of Roby’s three-year, $31.5MM deal, keeping him under club control through 2022. The Texans, meanwhile, will move forward with Terrance Mitchell and Desmond King II as their top corners.

Reworked Deal For Saints’ Bradley Roby

On Wednesday, the Texans shipped cornerback Bradley Roby to the Saints. In order to facilitate the trade, the Texans first converted ~$7.6MM of his base salary into a signing bonus (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com). 

Now, Roby will have a base salary of $1.86MM, down from his scheduled $9.5MM. In essence, the Texans are absorbing a larger dead money hit so that the Saints can fit his contract under the salary cap. That likely means a better haul of draft picks for the Texans, though the exact return in the trade is not yet known.

Roby won’t be with the Saints for their season opener against the Packers on Sunday, since he’s still serving the final week of his six-game ban. But, after that, he’ll be good to go for September 19, when they travel to Carolina to face the Panthers.

Roby, 29, recorded 37 tackles, one interception, a fumble recovery, and seven passes defended in 2020. In a trying year for the Texans, he stood as Houston’s best cornerback. Now, he’ll join fellow newcomer Desmond Trufant to help New Orleans’ ailing secondary. The veterans will team up with Marshon Lattimore, Ken Crawley, and Paulson Adebo, though Lattimore could face a suspension of his own before the season is through.

Texans Cut OL Lane Taylor, Get Roster To 53

While much of the focus in Houston is on quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Texans still needed to reduce their roster today. They did just that, making the following transactions:

Released

Waived

Released/Failed Physical

Activated from PUP

Placed on Reserve/Suspended list

There’s a number of notable names on this list, including wideout Keke Coutee, who has started 10 of his 23 games over the past three years for the Texans. Perhaps the most important move is the activation of Cannon, who was acquired from the Patriots earlier this offseason. The 33-year-old is expected to provide the Texans offense with a veteran presence, and his return to practice may have bumped another veteran from the roster. The team released lineman Lane Taylor, who sat on PUP for all of the preseason while recovering from a torn ACL. The veteran has only appeared in two games since the 2019 season, and his return to the NFL will now have to take place elsewhere.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/11/21

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

  • Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Bradley Roby
  • Waived: WR Damon Hazelton

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

  • Claimed off waivers from Cardinals: OT Ryan Pope

New York Giants

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

NFL Suspends Texans’ Bradley Roby

Texans cornerback Bradley Roby has been suspended six games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. This comes on the heels of the same violation/ban for teammate Will Fuller. The suspensions will keep both players out of action for the rest of the season, plus Week 1 of the 2021 season.

[RELATED: Texans’ Fuller Suspended For PEDs]

I apologize to my family, my teammates, the Houston Texans organization and the fans,” Roby said in a statement. “A few months ago I unknowingly used a product that was contaminated with a banned substance by the NFL. I recognize that it is my job to know, and be responsible for, everything I put in my body. I will be suspended for six games, ending my season. I will take the necessary steps in the future to prevent this from ever happening again. I look forward to rejoining my teammates next season in our goal to bring a championship to Houston.

In ten games (all starts), Roby notched 37 tackles, one interception, a fumble recovery, and seven passes defended. Even though he was briefly deactivated in November, the 28-year-old stood as the Texans’ best corner. With Gareon Conley out of the equation, the Texans will move forward with Vernon Hargreaves and Phillip Gaines as their top CBs.

After signing Roby to a three-year, $31.5MM deal in March, the Texans have Roby under contract through 2022.

Texans Deactivate CB Bradley Roby

Texans interim HC Romeo Crennel is making a statement. As Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports, cornerback Bradley Roby did not travel to Jacksonville for this week’s game against the Jaguars and was told to remain home for disciplinary reasons.

It’s unclear what those reasons are, but whatever Roby did to displease the team, he may have done it in the past 48 hours or so. On Friday, Crennel told reporters that Roby — who left the team’s Week 7 loss to the Packers with a knee injury — was expected to play.

Roby joined the Texans on a one-year, $10MM deal in 2019, and he re-signed on a three-year, $36MM contract just before free agency opened this past offseason. He is the club’s top corner and has recorded Houston’s only interception this season.

Although it’s far too early to speculate on how this might impact Roby’s future with the team, it’s worth noting that his deal features $19MM in guarantees, most of which have not yet been paid out. Depending on the language in Roby’s deal, the Texans could theoretically void the remaining guarantees.

As of now, there’s no indication that Houston will go that route. Although the club is just 1-6 this year and looks to be embarking on a rebuild, solid, reasonably-priced corners are difficult to find.

Pro Football Focus doesn’t think much of Roby’s support in run defense this year, but PFF does give him high marks for his coverage abilities. Overall, the advanced metrics paint him as the 25th-best corner in the game out of 117 qualified players.

Contract Details: Texans, Seahawks, Redskins

Some assorted contract details from around the NFL:

  • Bradley Roby, CB (Texans): Three years, $36MM. Includes $19MM guaranteed. Base value of $31.5MM, with $4.5MM in annual playing time incentives. $3MM signing bonus, $3.5MM roster bonus (2020). Via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
  • Vernon Hargreaves, CB (Texans): One year. Deal is worth $1.325MM, including $250K signing bonus, $825K base salary, up to $250K in per-game roster bonuses. Via Wilson on Twitter.
  • Benson Mayowa, DE (Seahawks): Signed. One-year, $3.05MM deal. Includes $1.5MM signing bonus, $1.05MM base salary (fully guaranteed). $2.55MM in total guarantees, $500K in per-game roster bonuses. Via ESPN’s Brady Henderson on Twitter.
  • Cody Latimer, WR (Redskins): Signed. One-year deal, $137.5K guaranteed signing bonus. Cap hit of $887.5K. Via ESPN’s John Keim on Twitter.

We also thought this would be a good opportunity to pass along a tidbit from ESPN’s Field Yates (via Twitter), who listed the largest dead-money cap charges in 2020:

  1. Brandin Cooks: $20.8M (Rams)
  2. Nick Foles: $18.75M (Jaguars)
  3. Joe Flacco: $13.6M (Broncos)
  4. Tom Brady: $13.5M (Patriots)
  5. Todd Gurley: $11.75M (Rams)
  6. Matt Kalil: $9.8M (Panthers)
  7. Trai Turner: $9.592M (Panthers)
  8. Stefon Diggs: $9M (Vikings)
  9. Reshad Jones: $8.14M (Dolphins)
  10. Eric Berry: $8M (Chiefs)

Texans Re-Sign Bradley Roby

The Texans have come to terms on a new deal with impending free-agent cornerback Bradley Roby, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26. Roby was set to be one of the better cornerbacks available on the free-agent market. Instead, Houston will bring him back on a deal that Mike Garafolo reports spans for three years and is worth up to $36MM. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle added that sources tell him the deal includes roughly $17MM in guaranteed money.

Wilson had Tweeted earlier today that sides were expected to get a deal done but had nothing set at that point. Now the Texans can go into free agency, which appears set to start on schedule, with one less position of uncertainty. Houston traded most of their draft capital before the season began to acquire left tackle Laremy Tunsil and wide receiver Kenny Stills from the Dolphins and would have been left scrambling to fill another hole through free agency.

Roby has never been considered an elite player but has remained a consistent contributor since entering the league in 2014. Cornerback was set to be one of the deeper positions entering free agency with Roby alongside the Panthers’ James Bradberry and elite Cowboys corner Byron Jones, but one fewer option will now be available to teams in search of cornerback depth. That’s a blow to teams like the Eagles, who are reportedly set to target corners in free agency.

Latest On Texans Free Agents

The Texans have a number of notable players hitting free agency, but it sounds like the front office has made re-signing Bradley Roby a priority. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (via Twitter) that Houston will “do what they can” to keep many of their free agents, a grouping that’s “especially” led by the 28-year-old cornerback.

Roby inked a one-year, $10MM deal with the Texans last offseason, but he was limited to only 10 games (10 starts) during his first season in Houston. Roby finished the campaign having compiled 38 tackles, eight passes defended, two interceptions (including a pick-six), and one forced fumble.

On the other side of the ball, it sounds like the organization is hoping to retain veteran running back Carlos Hyde. However, as Wilson passes along, Hyde declined a contract offer from the organization and is set to hit free agency. The 29-year-old started 14 games and had his first career 1,000-yard season in 2019. Fellow running back Lamar Miller, who was sidelined with a torn ACL last year, will also be heading to free agency.

Wilson passes along updates on a number of other Texans free agents. The organization is hoping to re-sign running back/special teamer Taiwan Jones and linebackers Tyrell Adams, Dylan Cole and Barkevious Mingo. On the flip side, the organization isn’t expected to bring back safety Jahleel Addae.