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Corey Nelson

Eagles Release Corey Nelson

August 26th, 2018 at 11:58am CST by Rory Parks

The Eagles have released linebacker Corey Nelson, as Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (via Twitter). The moves does not come as much of a surprise, as we learned a few days ago that Philadelphia was expected to cut the Oklahoma product, which puts the team on track to pick up a sixth-round compensatory pick in the 2019 draft.

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Nelson spent the first four years of his career with the Broncos, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2014 draft. He mostly served as a special teams ace in Denver, although he did start six games during the 2016 campaign. As McLane tweets, the Eagles signed Nelson as a free agent this offseason with the purported intention of having him compete for the starting weak-side linebacker job. However, he was never really given time with the first-team defense, and he did not stand out during the reps he did get, which generally came with the third-string unit.

The Eagles will save about $1MM in cap space by releasing Nelson, though they will also take on $600K in dead money (the amount of Nelson’s signing bonus). Mike Klis of 9News tweets that he would not be surprised if the Broncos are interested in bringing Nelson back into the fold, while Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com suggests that the Dolphins could also be a fit (Twitter link).

The Eagles signed Jaboree Williams to take Nelson’s place on the 90-man roster.

NFC East Notes: Redskins, Eagles, Giants

August 22nd, 2018 at 9:47pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Adrian Peterson just signed with the Redskins on Tuesday, but head coach Jay Gruden wants to get the veteran back on the field for Friday’s preseason game against the Broncos, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk writes. While Gruden didn’t fully commit to Peterson seeing the field, he did say Washington will attempt to get Peterson “up to speed” before Friday. The Redskins are dealing with multiple injuries at the running back position, so Peterson will compete to handle early-down work that would have gone to second-round rookie Derrius Guice, who tore his ACL earlier in the preseason.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

  • The Eagles will likely release linebacker Corey Nelson prior to the regular season, not only because he’s been outplayed during camp and the preseason, but because doing so will net a Philadelphia a sixth-round compensatory pick, according to Jimmy Kempski of the Philly Voice. The NFL’s comp pick process is based on complicated cancellation charts that track how many free agents each team gained or lost. If Nelson is cut before the season (or anytime prior to Week 10), he’ll be removed from the comp pick formula, and therefore open up a sixth-round pick for the Eagles (in exchange for losing corner Patrick Robinson in free agency). Philadelphia would also pick up $1MM in cap space by releasing Nelson, although they’d take on $600K in dead money.
  • With a room full of injured running backs, the Giants added free agent runner Jhurell Pressley earlier this week. But New York also worked out fellow back Jahad Thomas on Monday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Thomas, 22, went undrafted out of Temple in 2017, but landed a contract with the Cowboys and then spent the majority of the regular season on the Jets’ practice squad. Thomas, who was briefly on the Winnipeg Bombers’ (CFL) roster earlier this summer, averaged 4.6 yards per carry and scored 30 total touchdowns over his final two collegiate seasons.
  • After winning the Super Bowl in 2017, the Eagles returned much of their loaded roster and added more depth. Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com runs down the projected 53-man squad and potential roster cuts.

AFC West Rumors: Broncos, OL, Patterson

March 18th, 2018 at 8:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the Broncos have made two Super Bowls in the past five seasons and have seen numerous players sign extensions or land lucrative deals elsewhere, they have not had much luck filling their right tackle job. Denver has assembled Week 1 lineups with five different right tackles since the 2013 season, and in 2018, the franchise could be set to extend that streak to six. The Broncos are scouring the market for tackle help, Nick Kosminder of the Denver Post notes. With Garett Bolles set to play left tackle for a second season, this presumably means the franchise is again looking to upgrade on the other side.

John Elway said at the Combine the team planned to keep Menelik Watson, despite his struggles with performance and injuries last season. The 2017 UFA acquisition followed Donald Stephenson as a disappointing mid-level UFA add, but at this point, Denver would be pursuing another lower-tier free agent since the top talents on this market have signed. Of PFR’s top 10 UFA tackles, only LaAdrian Waddle, Cameron Fleming and Sam Young remain unsigned. Waddle is meeting with the Patriots, and Fleming is visiting the Cowboys on Monday. The Broncos signed Watson after middling results with the Raiders, and Oakland’s other two right tackles in that span — Austin Howard and Marshall Newhouse — are now available. The Broncos have tried draft choices Michael Schofield and Ty Sambrailo here as well and could bring in competition through that avenue again, but the team looks like it’s examining veterans right now.

Here’s the latest from Denver and other AFC West locales.

  • Brandon Marshall‘s $5MM 2018 salary became fully guaranteed on Sunday, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post notes. He will return to start for a fifth season in Denver. This isn’t a big surprise considering the Broncos signed Marshall to a four-year, $32MM extension in the summer of 2016. He’s set to comprise $7MM of the Broncos’ 2018 cap. This comes after the Broncos agreed to a three-year, $15MM deal with Marshall’s inside linebacker running mate, Todd Davis.
  • Prior to bringing back Davis, however, the Broncos offered to pay Corey Nelson a one-year deal worth $2.25MM, Jhabvala reports. The Broncos were interested in retaining their longtime backup, who is viewed as a superior coverage player to Davis, but he instead accepted a one-year, $2.25MM offer to sign with the Eagles. Denver still has backup inside linebacker Zaire Anderson under contract.
  • The Raiders agreeing to ship Cordarrelle Patterson to the Patriots freed up $3.25MM in cap space, but the primary reason for the trade was Patterson not being a fit for what Jon Gruden is eyeing, Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweets. Patterson signed a two-year deal with the Raiders last year. The Raiders have reshuffled their receiving corps but are now in deed of more depth at that position.
  • The Chiefs are examining the RFA pool by hosting defensive lineman Xavier Williams on a visit. Williams is a Kansas City, Mo., native.

Eagles To Sign LB Corey Nelson

March 13th, 2018 at 1:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although the Broncos were eyeing Corey Nelson as a player they would like to have retained, the linebacker will join the Eagles instead. Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets Nelson will head to Philadelphia on a one-year deal. It’s a one-year, $2.25MM pact, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Nelson is coming off a season-ending injury and has operated primarily as a reserve during his four-year career.

The former seventh-round pick did start six games for the 2016 Broncos. He’s been one of Denver’s top special-teamers. Nelson will join an Eagles team that could lose Nigel Bradham in free agency and has Jordan Hicks coming off a season-ending injury.

The Broncos could lose Todd Davis in free agency as well, but the franchise also was planning to see what it would cost to retain him. Nelson’s defection could make that a higher priority.

FA Notes: Burkhead, Seahawks, Broncos

March 1st, 2018 at 8:33pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Free agent running back Rex Burkhead is expected to see a “competitive market” for his services and it’s not a lock that he re-signs with the Patriots, according to Doug Kyed of NESN. Burkhead, 27, inked a one-year deal with New England last offseason and went on to produce 518 yards from scrimmage in 10 games. Viable in both the running and passing game, Burkhead ranked seventh in receiving DVOA in 2017, meaning he was highly effective on a per-play basis. The Patriots, of course, have another free agent running back in Dion Lewis, who is expected to draw interest from six-to-seven teams on the open market.

Here’s more from the free agent front:

  • The Texans and cornerback Johnathan Joseph have mutual interest in a return, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Joseph, 33, has spent the past seven seasons in Houston after beginning his career in Cincinnati. Last year, Joseph started all 16 games for the Texans and managed two interceptions. Even more impressive, Joseph ranked 21st in Football Outsiders’ success rate, meaning he was excellent at stopping wideouts short of the sticks. If he does re-sign with Houston, Joseph will need to accept less than the $7.3MM annual salary he earned under his previous contract, per Wilson, who adds Joseph would also likely see a reduced role in the Texans’ secondary.
  • With Kam Chancellor‘s status for the 2018 season in doubt, the Seahawks have discussed moving cornerback DeShawn Shead to safety, reports Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. Shead is a free agent, so Seattle would have to re-sign him if it wants him to play safety, but the club clearly has interest in retaining him. A 15-game starter as recently as 2015, Shead tore his ACL in January 2016 and took awhile to recover. Two surgeries later, Shead is hitting the free agent market after appearing in only two contests a season ago. Fellow reserve defensive back Bradley McDougald is also a pending free agent, so the Seahawks will need to work to retain their secondary depth this offseason.
  • Although the Broncos would prefer to re-sign linebacker Todd Davis, they will likely allow him to gauge his value on the open market, general manager John Elway told reporters, including Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The Broncos plan to meet with the representatives for both Davis and fellow linebacker Corey Nelson on Saturday, per Jhabala. Davis, for his part, has started 29 games for Denver over the past two seasons. Now 25 years old, Davis graded as the No. 34 linebacker among 87 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.

Extra Points: Pack, Panthers, Broncos, 49ers

February 18th, 2018 at 9:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

As teams prepare their free agency budgets, several marquee players will be notified soon they will be cap casualties. Brian Cushing was one of the first to find out in 2018. But Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com expects some key members of NFC teams to be jettisoned soon. The Packers are likely to keep one of the Jordy Nelson/Randall Cobb tandem, but Rosenthal does not expect both to return. Not after Davante Adams signed for $14MM AAV. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com noted this week Cobb is more likely to be shown the door than Nelson, who has been Aaron Rodgers‘ favorite target for years. A Cobb cut would save the Packers $9.5MM in dead money. Nelson would create $10.2MM in space if released. The duo count as the Nos. 2-3 players on Green Bay’s 2018 cap sheet.

The Panthers have used either DeAngelo Williams or Jonathan Stewart, or a combination of both, as their top ground producer since the 2007 season. But Rosenthal expects Stewart to be cut along with Charles Johnson. A Stewart cut would create $3.7MM in cap space while tagging Carolina with $1.5MM in dead money. He will turn 31 next month. This would create a void at running back, with Christian McCaffrey more of a pass-catching hybrid type, but Stewart’s yards-per-carry average dropped to a career-low 3.4 last season. Although, his 15 games of work were his most since the 2011 slate.

Here’s the latest from around the league:

  • Though the Broncos have Matt Paradis and Shaquil Barrett as impending RFAs, they don’t have many high-profile UFAs. Todd Davis profiles as a player who will generate interest on the open market after garnering some as an RFA last year, and Mike Klis of 9News notes the Broncos would like to have their two-year inside linebacker starter back. But the player that might be more likely to return and complement Brandon Marshall in 2018 is Corey Nelson. A four-year backup who started six games in 2016, Nelson is the free agent the Broncos would most like to bring back, Klis writes, adding the former seventh-round pick may receive some heavy Broncos interest during the legal tampering period that begins March 12.
  • Virgil Green and Cody Latimer saw their Denver deals expire, and Green would like to stay on a third contract. A member of every John Elway-era Broncos team, the eighth-year player has functioned as a blocking tight end for most of his Broncos tenure. Green signed a three-year, $12MM deal to stay in Denver in 2015 when many of his 2011 draft class mates departed, but with a Kirk Cousins push coming, the Broncos may not have much money to spend to retain him. Latimer did not develop into what the Broncos hoped as a second-round pick but became a dependable special teams player. Klis writes the Broncos will consider re-signing him if his market doesn’t develop.
  • Oklahoma State wide receiver Marcell Ateman has impressed the 49ers, among other teams, Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com reports. Ateman has been working with former 200- and 400-meter world-record holder Michael Johnson in developing for the draft and is viewed as a Day 2 prospect, but Pauline writes his stock figures to rise based on the speed and vertical numbers he’s been posting. Ateman broke out for 59 receptions, 1,156 yards and eight touchdowns as a senior.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/21/17

October 21st, 2017 at 5:09pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are today’s minor moves.

  • Multiple injuries along their offensive front prompted the Broncos to promote two O-linemen from their practice squad. Dillon Day and Elijah Wilkinson will be part of Denver’s 53-man roster for its Week 7 game in Los Angeles, Mike Klis of 9News reports (Twitter links). The team placed inside linebacker Corey Nelson on IR after the fourth-year player tore a biceps muscle, and the Broncos waived defensive tackle Kyle Peko, Klis reports (on Twitter). An ex-UDFA interior lineman out of Mississippi State, Day’s spent the past 2 1/2 seasons on the Broncos’ practice squad. A tackle, Wilkinson is a rookie UDFA out of UMass. Both Menelik Watson and Donald Stephenson are out against the Chargers.
  • The Packers will give Aaron Rodgers‘ roster spot to safety Jermaine Whitehead, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports. Whitehead signed a reserve/futures deal with the Packers in January after spending time on Green Bay’s practice squad last season. The ex-UDFA safety resided on the 49ers’ taxi squad for much of the 2015 season.
  • The Jaguars swapped out wide receivers on their active roster before their Week 7 game, waiving Max McCaffrey and signing Jaydon Mickens, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union tweets. The son of Ed McCaffrey and older brother of Christian McCaffrey, Max has now been cut by four teams — the Raiders, Packers, Saints and Jaguars — since entering the league as a 2016 UDFA. A second-year player out of Washington, Mickens received a Jags practice squad invitation last month.

Broncos LB Corey Nelson Out For Season

October 20th, 2017 at 12:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Broncos have trotted out the same quartet of inside linebackers since the beginning of last season, but they will be a thinner group entering Week 6. Fourth-year contributor Corey Nelson will miss the rest of this season because of an elbow injury, Vance Joseph said Friday (via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post, on Twitter).

Nelson will be placed on IR and undergo surgery, Jhabvala tweets, adding that the Broncos will promote linebacker Jerrol Garcia-Williams from their practice squad. Nelson suffered the injury during Thursday’s practice, Mike Klis of 9News tweets, one that also saw swing tackle Donald Stephenson tear a calf muscle.

A fourth-year linebacker who arrived in Denver as a 2014 seventh-round pick out of Oklahoma, Nelson played in every Broncos game since that ’14 season. This included work in each of the Broncos’ three playoff contests during their 2015 Super Bowl season. He mostly served as a depth piece, initially behind Danny Trevathan and Brandon Marshall before being the primary backup Marshall and Todd Davis once Trevathan signed with the Bears.

Nelson started six games last season, making a career-high 61 tackles, because of a Marshall hamstring injury. The Broncos have used Nelson mostly on special teams this season, playing him on only 44 defensive snaps. This will make 2015 UDFA Zaire Anderson the primary backup to Marshall and Davis going forward. Nelson will be a UFA after this season.

Denver signed Garcia-Williams as a UDFA out of Hawaii in May.

Broncos Sign Cody Latimer, Two Others

June 2nd, 2014 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

3:50pm: Paradis has also signed his four-year deal, the team announced in a press release. The offensive lineman is the 200th of 256 total draftees to reach an agreement.

3:38pm: One of the NFL’s two teams that had yet to sign any draftees coming into the day, the Broncos have sprung into action, locking up a pair of picks and working on deals with two more. Second-round receiver Cody Latimer announced on Twitter that he has signed his rookie contract with Denver, and the club confirmed in a press release that seventh-round linebacker Corey Nelson has also inked his deal.

In addition to the pair of draftees who already signed, the Broncos are also closing in on agreements with fifth-round linebacker Lamin Barrow and sixth-round center Matt Paradis, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post. Klis adds that the club’s other two drafted players – first-round cornerback Bradley Roby and third-round tackle Michael Schofield – are expected to complete their respective deals within the next 10 days or so.

Latimer will be in line for a signing bonus worth about $1.017MM, while Nelson’s will be a more modest $48.6K, per Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap. Now that Denver has secured two of its draftees, the Rams are the league’s only club without any draft picks under contract. As our tracker shows, only 57 players remain unsigned, and 11 of those are St. Louis’ picks.