HEADLINES

Brandon Parker

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/24/23

August 24th, 2023 at 8:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves:

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Commanders

The Lions made a minor trade for Mims earlier this month, ending the former second-round pick’s unremarkable Jets tenure. But Mims struggled to catch on in Detroit as well. The Baylor alum is now headed toward free agency, should no one claim him. The Lions waived Mims with an injury designation, due to the fourth-year wideout encountering multiple ailments.

Parker landed on IR earlier this month. The Raiders will cut their former third-round pick loose. Depending on the terms of the settlement, Parker could return to the Raiders later this year. The sixth-year veteran could also land elsewhere, as this transaction will move him off Las Vegas’ IR. But the 32-game Raiders starter missed all of last season due to injury and moved out of the right tackle competition via injury once again this year.

The Eagles have circled back to Johnson quickly. After cutting the fifth-year veteran Wednesday, the defending NFC champions have him back in the fold on a two-year contract. The 26-year-old lineman had recently been promoted to second-team left tackle. Johnson started eight games for the Bengals from 2019-21.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/15/23

August 15th, 2023 at 7:49pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Houston Texans

  • Claimed off waivers (from Vikings): OT Jacky Chen
  • Released from IR: OT Greg Little

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: CB Matt Hankins, RB Aaron Shampklin

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

Pittsburgh Steelers

Sean Chandler brings 64 games of experience to Arizona. Following a 2021 campaign that saw him collect a career-high 48 tackles in 15 games (seven starts) for the Panthers, the 27-year-old got into 17 games for the team in 2022, finishing with 19 tackles while primarily playing on special teams.

Adetokunbo Ogundeji is a tough loss for the Falcons, as the linebacker has turned into an important piece on Atlanta’s defense. The former fifth-round pick has started 27 of his 32 games since entering the NFL, collecting 75 tackles and three sacks. Ogundeji suffered a foot/ankle injury that will require surgery, and his placement on IR means the issue will ultimately knock him out for the entire 2023 campaign.

Raiders Place T Brandon Parker On IR

August 15th, 2023 at 4:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

A starter during his most recent active season with the Raiders, Brandon Parker re-signed with the team this offseason. But Parker’s future with the franchise is again cloudy after another August injury.

The Raiders placed the veteran tackle on IR on Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 tweets. This marks the second straight year in which Parker has landed on IR before the season. Because of the preseason placement on the Raiders’ injured list, Parker is not eligible to be activated later in the season.

A recent roster projection from The Athletic’s Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed placed Parker on the final 53, with the duo indicating he had held the role of the fourth tackle — behind Kolton Miller, Jermaine Eluemunor and Thayer Munford (subscription required). This transaction will nix that path for the Silver and Black, who have not been able to turn to Parker since the 2021 season.

The Raiders initially drafted Parker in the 2018 third round, grabbing him two rounds after Miller in Jon Gruden‘s first draft at the helm. Primarily a right tackle, Parker started 13 games in 2021. The Raiders had drafted Alex Leatherwood that year but moved him to guard quickly. Even with the Josh McDaniels-led staff shifting Leatherwood back to tackle in 2022, the Alabama product could not avoid the chopping block. But neither Leatherwood nor Parker factored into the Raiders’ plans last season. A triceps injury landed Parker on IR on August 28 of last year.

Just before free agency, the 27-year-old blocker re-signed with the Raiders on a one-year, $1.5MM deal. Las Vegas guaranteed the sixth-year vet $475K. The North Carolina A&T alum has made 32 starts as a Raider. With Parker out of the picture, 2022 trade acquisition Justin Herron figures to have a better chance of making the 53-man roster as a backup.

With the open roster spot, the Raiders signed wide receiver Isaiah Zuber, Wilson tweets. Zuber’s only game action came with the Patriots in 2020, during McDaniels’ lengthy second stint as New England’s OC.

Raiders Re-Sign T Brandon Parker

March 10th, 2023 at 6:51pm CST by Adam La Rose

Offensive line was a sore spot in 2022 for the Raiders, but a veteran member of the unit will be staying place. Per a team announcement, right tackle Brandon Parker has been re-signed.

The 27-year-old missed the entire 2022 campaign due to injury, which threw off the team’s plans at his position. Parker was in line to remain the full-time RT starter, as he had been in 2021. He had seen a brief spell on the blindside previously in his career, but right tackle represents his most familiar spot on the o-line. In his absence, the Raiders relied on veteran Jermaine Eluemunor and seventh-round rookie Thayer Munford at the position.

A 2018 third-round pick, Parker has started 32 games across his 54 total appearances, all with the Silver and Black. Over that span, he has never drawn good reviews from PFF, though the 2021 season did see him register a new career-high overall rating of 55.8. The Raiders are confident he will be able to return to full health by inking him to a new deal, although it likely won’t eat much into their available funds.

Parker had a cap hit of just $3.5MM in 2022, and the fact that he didn’t play obviously won’t have boosted his stock ahead of free agency. This new pact will prevent him from being able to test the open market, though it will give Vegas some continuity in an offseason where shoring up their protection up front will no doubt be among their top priorities.

The Raiders also announced on Friday that they have re-signed tight end Jesper Horsted. The 26-year-old began his career with the Bears, seeing game time there in 2019 and 2021. He signed with Vegas last summer, and played almost exclusively on special teams. That will likely continue this coming season, one in which both he and Parker will remain in the fold.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/22

August 28th, 2022 at 7:55pm CST by Rory Parks

We will keep track of today’s minor moves right here:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders:

New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Summers is a 2019 seventh-round pick who has just one career start but who has established himself as a key contributor on Green Bay’s special teams unit over his first three seasons in the league. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com expects the TCU product to generate interest on the waiver wire (Twitter link). Indeed, Packers HC Matt LaFleur said that the team made the decision to part ways with Summers now in order to give him a chance to hook on with a new club before the wave of impending cuts that will soon flood the market (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com).

The Seahawks’ decision to move Brown to the PUP list means that he will be sidelined for at least the first four games of the season. That marks a disappointing start to his second NFL campaign; the fourth-rounder had two separate IR stints last year. That limited him to just five games (three starts), during which he registered 10 tackles and one pass deflection. Seattle has seen plenty of roster turnover at the CB position this offseason, leaving Brown in line for at least a rotational role. In his absence, the team will rely even more on starters Sidney Jones and Artie Burns, with rookies Coby Bryant likely to play in the slot.

Raiders RT Brandon Parker Out For Season

August 28th, 2022 at 5:53pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Raiders’ right tackle competition has seen an unfortunate development. Per a team announcement, projected starter Brandon Parker has been placed on injured reserve, ending his 2022 season. 

The 26-year-old was in line to operate with the first team, but suffered an injury which was recently confirmed as being serious. In his absence, Vegas had several options available as replacements, and were subsequently reported to not be eyeing a free agent addition.

Parker has starting experience dating back, primarily, to his rookie season and the 2021 campaign. He re-upped with the team in free agency on a one-year deal worth $3.5MM, a contract which would have given the team a cost-effective lineman and allowed the former third-rounder to earn a more lucrative pact next offseason. Instead, his market will be weighed down by this year-long absence.

For the past few weeks, Vegas has weighed their options at the position, which include veteran Jermaine Eluemunor, seventh-round rookie Thayer Munford and 2021 first-rounder Alex Leatherwood. The latter struggled during his rookie season, resulting in a shift to guard. He has been similarly underwhelming during this offseason, potentially leaving his roster spot in jeopardy despite his age and draft status. Indeed, the team’s braintrust – now featuring GM Dave Ziegler and HC Josh McDaniels – has explored the possibility of trading Leatherwood, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.

Between that possibility and a minor ailment for Munford, Eluemunor can be considered the RT favorite at least to start the season. Especially given the expectations surrounding the Raiders, though, that spot (along with the 0-line as a whole) will be heavily scrutinized, particularly if Vegas holds firm on using internal options to replace Parker.

The team also confirmed on Sunday that defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster and linebacker Tae Davis have been placed on IR. Lancaster had been a rotational presence throughout his four-year Packers tenure before signing in May; Davis, meanwhile, primarily played on special teams with the Giants and Browns to begin his career. He missed the 2021 campaign, and had recently been released by the Texans.

Raiders Not Eyeing Free Agent RT Addition

August 20th, 2022 at 2:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders did not field a particularly good offensive line in 2021. Despite the franchise hiring a new head coach-GM combination, the group remains relatively unchanged. And the team endured a recent setback; Brandon Parker is battling what is believed to be a significant injury, Tashan Reed of The Athletic notes (subscription required).

Parker has not practiced since the Raiders’ preseason opener Aug. 4. The veteran blocker who spent much of last season as the Raiders’ starting right tackle re-signed with the team on a one-year, $3.5MM deal. He continued to work with the first-stringers during the team’s offseason program and into the start of training camp. The Raiders do not view Parker’s injury as season-ending at this point, per Reed, leading to no IR placement. Players can only return from IR if they are carried through to the 53-man roster after the Aug. 30 cutdown day.

The team does have other options here. Alex Leatherwood, who moved to guard early during his rookie season, is the most prominent of those choices. Though, the Alabama product widely viewed as a first-round reach last year was Pro Football Focus’ worst-graded full-time O-lineman in 2021. Still, Josh McDaniels said earlier this summer Leatherwood would be given “every opportunity” to win the job. Veteran Jermaine Eluemunor and seventh-round rookie Thayer Munford, whom the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore notes has made “rapid” improvement, are also in the mix here. Munford, however, also suffered an injury this week.

Parker being sidelined for a chunk of the season opens the door to one of these options, with the others becoming depth pieces or swing options. The Raiders’ initial depth chart has Lester Cotton, a UDFA who has appeared in five career games, positioned as their right guard starter. Leatherwood having a road back to that gig, should he lose the right tackle competition, would make sense.

The team is not ruling out an outside addition, per Bonsignore, who adds a trade should not be discarded as an option. That may well depend on Parker’s timetable. If the team is to add a player in a non-trade capacity, Bonsignore notes a move should be expected on the waiver wire when rosters are slashed from 80 to 53 players in 10 days. But Las Vegas is not actively scouring the free agent market.

Daryl Williams resides as one of the top options available, but Reed adds the Raiders did not view him well as a Bills right tackle last season. The Bills moved Williams to guard during the 2021 slate. Bobby Massie, a longtime Bears starter who was the Broncos’ primary right-edge blocker in 2021, and Brandon Shell (a Jets and Seahawks full-timer during his career) are available as well.

Raiders Rumors: Offensive Line, WRs, Jacobs

July 18th, 2022 at 6:09pm CST by Ely Allen

We recently wrote about the unlikelihood that any rookies will be starting for the Raiders to start the 2022 NFL season. The player we gave the best odds of earning a starting role is maybe even better set up for taking the job than we thought, according to Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed at The Athletic. The two reported that, besides left tackle Kolton Miller and right guard Denzelle Good, the other three offensive line jobs are up for grabs.

We had given Andre James the assumption of starting at center after a successful season at the position last year. We also didn’t grant Good an automatic spot as he is recovering from a torn ACL that held him out for all but 18 snaps of last season. But Tafur and Reed assert that rookie third-round pick Dylan Parham “could push John Simpson at left guard and (James) at center.”

They also believe that Alex Leatherwood doesn’t quite have the right tackle job in the bag. He’s being pushed by Brandon Parker, who started 13 games at the position last year, while Leatherwood occupied a guard spot.

Here are a few more rumors from Sin City:

  • The addition of star wide receiver Davante Adams provides an obvious No. 1 weapon for quarterback Derek Carr. Carr will have Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller to target in the slot and at tight end, respectively, but who will be out wide opposite Adams? That role will be a battle between free agent additions Mack Hollins, Keelan Cole, and Demarcus Robinson. According to Tafur and Reed, the former Dolphins wide receiver, Hollins, should be considered the favorite. Though he hasn’t quite shown the necessary production (his best season came last year with 14 catches for 223 yards and 4 touchdowns), Hollins has a large, 6’4″ frame and speed that can make him an effective weapon while defenses focus on Adams, Waller, and Renfrow. Cole has shown more consistent production during tenures in Jacksonville and New York, as has Robinson in Kansas City, but neither quite has the physical tools that Hollins displays. If Hollins can take the next step and make the most of his abilities, Cole and Robinson can be strong assets off the bench behind a starting three of Adams, Renfrow, and Hollins.
  • Las Vegas didn’t pick up the fifth-year option on running back Josh Jacobs rookie contract this offseason as a result of some of the injury trouble he’s experienced in the NFL. In total, Jacobs has only missed six games throughout his three years of play, but his struggle to stay healthy has limited him in many other games. Due to health, Tafur and Reed see this as Jacobs’ last year on the team. Their opinion is also backed by the draft addition of Georgia running back Zamir White, once considered the top recruit at his position in high school. While the team won’t put too much on White as a rookie, The Athletic guesses that the Raiders will utilize a running back by committee approach. Vegas will lean on Jacobs to lead, as the most talented, while attempting to bring White along and up to NFL-speed. Career third-down back Brandon Bolden and backup Kenyan Drake will continue their usual roles as the Raiders allegedly groom White to start.

Raiders Re-Sign OL Brandon Parker

March 21st, 2022 at 4:47pm CST by Ben Levine

Despite a new regime taking over, the Raiders are sticking with Brandon Parker. The team announced that they have re-signed the offensive tackle.

The North Carolina A&T product joined the Raiders as a third-round pick in 2018. He played a significant role on the offensive line during his rookie season, but he was demoted to a backup/rotational role in 2019 and 2020.

Parker again emerged as a starter in 2021, starting a career-high 13 games. The 25-year-old ended up seeing time in 77 percent of his team’s offensive snaps this past year, and he also continued to a have a somewhat-regular role on special teams.

The Raiders have made a handful of fringe moves on their offensive line, re-signing Jackson Barton and signing free agent Alex Bars. The Raiders also signed former Patriots fullback Jakob Johnson.

Raiders Shifting Alex Leatherwood To Guard?

October 7th, 2021 at 3:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Raiders’ historic offensive pace slowed Monday night, and the team is looking into an interesting adjustment on its new-look offensive line.

First-round pick Alex Leatherwood worked at right guard Thursday, with former third-rounder Brandon Parker lining up at right tackle, The Athletic’s Tashan Reed tweets. Raiders OC Greg Olson deemed this new arrangement an attempt at getting the team’s best five O-linemen on the field together, via the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore (on Twitter).

While this might not be a long-term adjustment, Leatherwood sliding to guard is certainly notable. This year’s No. 17 overall pick worked as Alabama’s left tackle during his junior and senior seasons. However, Leatherwood’s first foray into first-string Crimson Tide duty came at guard — as a sophomore in 2018. Leatherwood has struggled at right tackle with Las Vegas. The Raiders’ latest surprise first-round pick not only grades as Pro Football Focus’ worst tackle but has produced the lowest pass-blocking grade of any rookie through four games in the site’s 16-season history, PFF’s Austin Gayle tweets.

Parker has not been a regular starter since his 2018 rookie season. He served as a spot starter over the ensuing two seasons, lining up with the Raiders’ first-stringers seven times from 2019-20. The team’s current issues may lead to another opportunity. The Raiders jettisoned their three most experienced O-linemen in March, trading away Gabe Jackson, Rodney Hudson and Trent Brown. That has led to some predictable early issues up front.

Las Vegas is currently down starting guards Richie Incognito and Denzelle Good. The former is on short-term IR, while the latter is out for the season. The team has second-year guard John Simpson and Jermaine Eluemunor at guard, though neither is faring particularly well. While Derek Carr has offered up a strong start, the Raiders rank 27th in rushing.

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