HEADLINES

Eddie Goldman

DL Eddie Goldman To Meet With Ravens

March 15th, 2022 at 6:32pm CST by Ben Levine

Eddie Goldman‘s first free agent visit will be in Baltimore. The veteran defensive lineman is expected to meet with the Ravens on Friday, reports Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (via Twitter).

The Bears cut Goldman last week after they couldn’t work out a trade for the veteran defensive lineman. Two years remained on Goldman’s $10.5MM-per-year deal, and cutting the veteran saved the Bears more than $6MM in cap space.

Goldman, 28, returned to the Bears after opting out of the 2020 season. He started 10 games, upping his total to 73 as a pro. The Bears gave him an extension worth $42MM in 2018, but because his contract tolled after he passed on the 2020 season, Goldman was signed through 2023.

The Ravens have revamped their defense a bit over the past week. After releasing cornerback Tavon Young last week, the team inked safety Marcus Williams to a whopping five-year, $70MM deal. Goldman would be another notable addition to new DC Mike Macdonald‘s defense.

Bears To Release NT Eddie Goldman

March 11th, 2022 at 2:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bears continue to dismantle their veteran front seven. Not long after cutting Danny Trevathan, Chicago is moving on from nose tackle Eddie Goldman.

This comes after the team made efforts to trade Goldman, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Two years remained on Goldman’s $10.5MM-per-year deal. The move will save the Bears just more than $6MM in cap space.

Goldman, 28, returned to the Bears after opting out of the 2020 season. He started 10 games, upping his total to 73 as a pro. Goldman was a part of each Vic Fangio Bears defense, starting all 16 games for the team’s No. 1-ranked unit in 2018, and retained his job after the acclaimed defensive coordinator’s exit. The Bears gave him an extension just before Week 1 of that season. Because his contract tolled after passing on the 2020 season, Goldman was signed through 2023. He should have an opportunity to catch on elsewhere soon.

Goldman and Trevathan, with the Bears since 2015 and ’16, respectively, are hitting the open market early. Akiem Hicks, with the team since 2016, is set for free agency next week. Khalil Mack, a four-year contributor after a 2018 blockbuster trade, hit the trade block and is headed to the Chargers. With Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles now in charge, Chicago’s defense will look considerably different in 2022.

NFL COVID List Updates

December 18th, 2021 at 7:37pm CST by Zachary Links

We are trying our best here at Pro Football Rumors to keep up with all of the updates throughout the league concerning players on the reserve/COVID-19 list. A lot of teams had high hopes during today’s testing as they were trying to get players activated in time for Sunday’s slate of games.

Here are updates as of 8:30 PM ET, Sat 12/18:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Eddie Goldman
  • OC Bill Lazor, DC Sean Desai, STC Chris Tabor in COVID-19 protocols

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: DB P.J. Locke

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Four Coaches in COVID-19 protocols

New York Giants

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team

Bears To Promote DL Damion Square

September 11th, 2021 at 2:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

It looks like Damion Square will be set for a ninth NFL season. The veteran defensive lineman caught on with the Bears earlier this week, via a practice squad deal, but will be on Chicago’s active roster Sunday night.

The Bears are promoting Square from their taxi squad, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Starting nose tackle Eddie Goldman will not make the trip to Los Angeles, having been ruled out for Week 1 with a knee injury, putting Square in position to be a depth piece for his new team.

The Saints released Square on roster cutdown day. A week later, the Bears brought the former Charger in for a workout and added him to their 16-man practice squad. While Square is not a lock to dress against the Rams, Goldman’s injury and the Bears’ thin defensive line depth chart would seemingly ensure the ninth-year vet plays. Chicago has three backup D-linemen on its roster — Square, Angelo Blackson and seventh-round rookie Khyiris Tonga — but one of them will need to start for Goldman.

Square, 32, played six seasons with the Chargers and started 24 games — including 11 during the Bolts’ 2018 playoff season. He played 252 defensive snaps with Los Angeles last season, tallying a sack two QB hits. The Bears are Square’s third team this year. The Browns signed him in May but cut him in mid-August, leading the Saints to take a flier. But Square’s ninth season will begin with Chicago.

Additionally, the Bears are elevating linebacker Josh Woods from their practice squad. The 2020 CBA allows teams to bump up two players from P-squads on game days and dress 48 instead of 46.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/4/21

August 4th, 2021 at 4:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: CB Saivion Smith
  • Waived/injured: OT Cody Conway; Conway suffered a torn ACL

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Waived/injured: S Brandon White

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Placed on IR: DB DeMarkus Acy; Acy suffered a torn ACL
  • Waived/injured: OT Anthony Coyle

Eddie Goldman May Not Return To Bears This Year?

July 5th, 2021 at 6:07pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Eddie Goldman saga might not have a happy ending for Bears fans. The veteran defensive tackle opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19, but Chicago coaches said back in February they were expecting him back for 2021.

Then Goldman skipped the teams voluntary offseason program and their mandatory minicamp. For no-showing the minicamp he racked up a $93K fine. At minicamp Bears head coach Matt Nagy said that the team still expected him to be “rocking and rolling there at training camp,” but Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune says not so fast.

It’s now a “legitimate question,” as to whether or not Goldman will return to the Bears, Biggs writes. He adds that one league source “suggested Goldman could be weighing retirement.” He does also note that Bears linebacker backed Nagy up by expressing confidence Goldman would be at training camp as well, so who know.

Either way, it’s an interesting situation to keep an eye on. Goldman, the 2015 second-round pick who signed a four-year, $42MM extension with Chicago back in 2018, is a key part of the team’s run defense when on the field. He started at least 15 games in three straight seasons from 2016-18. The Florida State product has also shown some flashes as a pass-rusher up the middle, racking up 12.5 sacks in 67 career games.

NT Eddie Goldman No-Shows Bears Mandatory Minicamp

June 15th, 2021 at 5:08pm CST by Ben Levine

Nose tackle Eddie Goldman was a no-show at Bears mandatory minicamp today. Matt Nagy told reporters that he’s talked with the veteran defensive lineman, but the head coach also noted that the absence was unexcused (per Adam Jahns of The Athletic on Twitter). Nagy said he expects Goldman to be present during July’s training camp.

[RELATED: Allen Robinson To Show For Bears’ Minicamp]

Goldman signed a four-year, $42MM extension ($25MM guaranteed) with the Bears back in 2018. That deal was set to expire following the 2022 campaign, but the deal was extended to 2023 after the veteran sat out the 2020 campaign. As part of that move, Goldman agreed to a $350K stipend during the 2020 season, and his original 2020 salary of $4.75MM was pushed to 2021. It’s unknown if Goldman’s current absence is contract related, but this wrinkle could be a potential explanation.

The 2015 second-round pick has spent his entire career with the Bears, appearing in 67 games. Prior to sitting out the 2020 season, the veteran had only missed a pair of games between the 2017 and 2019 seasons, collecting 4.5 sacks, eight tackles for loss, and eight QB hits over that span.

NFC Notes: Lynn, Lions, Goldman, Bears, Gardeck, Cardinals

February 15th, 2021 at 10:26pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Lions got Jared Goff back in the blockbuster Matthew Stafford trade, but with all their newfound draft capital they very well may take another passer early. They’ve got the seventh overall pick in April, plus two future first-rounders from the Rams now. Even if they do draft a young quarterback, it sounds like new offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn would prefer Goff to play initially. After acknowledging that if there were a dramatic difference in training camp he would have to play the better player to keep the locker room, Lynn explained his belief that a rookie quarterback should sit at first, via Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press.

“I’d love to see that rookie sit and watch for a little while. If he could watch for half the season or watch for the first year like Patrick Mahomes did (behind Alex Smith), I believe he can learn so much from the right veteran quarterback because a lot of rookies come into this league and they’re not ready,” the Lions’ new offensive play-caller said. “The speed of the game is twice as fast as it was in college and they don’t have success. And in today’s environment with social media things get out of whack and some of these guys lose their confidence and, hell, they never get it back. So if I can sit a rookie, I will. If I can.”

Of course, Lynn was the head coach of the Chargers this past year when they initially started Tyrod Taylor over first-round pick Justin Herbert. An injury knocked out Taylor after only one game, and Herbert took the job and never looked back.

Here’s more from the NFC:

  • Many teams lost full-time starters due to COVID-19 opt outs for 2020, including the Bears with defensive tackle Eddie Goldman. Goldman started at least 15 games at nose tackle in each of the three previous seasons for Chicago before sitting out this past year. Fortunately for the Bears, new defensive coordinator Sean Desai said Monday that the team believes they’ll have him back in 2021, per Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com. Due to the league’s opt-out rules, Goldman’s contract, which owes him $4.75MM next year, tolled to 2021 automatically.
  • Cardinals outside linebacker Dennis Gardeck had a breakout 2020 season when he recorded seven sacks, but unfortunately it ended in injury. He was placed on injured reserve with a couple of games left to go, but we didn’t know at the time how severe it was. In an Instagram post last month, Gardeck revealed it was a torn ACL that he suffered. An UDFA in 2018 out of D2 school Sioux Falls, he was just a special teamer his first two years. He still was only getting limited snaps this past year but made the most of them, racking up the seven sacks despite playing less than ten percent of the defensive snaps. He had three multi-sack games. Unfortunately due to how late his ACL tear came, he should be considered questionable for Week 1 right now.
  • In case you missed it, the 49ers are reportedly either going to take a ‘big swing’, or stick with Jimmy Garoppolo.

2020 NFL Opt Out Tracker

August 5th, 2020 at 3:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Per an agreement between the NFL and the NFLPA, players with COVID-19 health concerns can opt out of the 2020 season. Initially, the deadline was believed to be Tuesday, August 4. Talks between the league and the union have pushed it to August 6.

Chiefs guard and medical school graduate Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was the first player to officially opt out. Scores of players followed.

Here’s the rundown, so far:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • T Brad Seaton

Tennessee Titans

  • OL Anthony McKinney

Washington Football Team

Free agents

Bears’ Eddie Goldman Opts Out

July 28th, 2020 at 10:01am CST by Zachary Links

Bears defensive tackle Eddie Goldman will opt out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 health concerns (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Goldman’s decision leaves the Bears with a major void to fill up front, with just over a month to go before the scheduled start of the season.

[RELATED: Patriots’ Hightower Opts Out Of 2020 Season]

Goldman was set to continue on the four-year, $42MM+ extension he signed in the fall of 2018. Now, his $4.75MM in guaranteed salary will toll into 2021 and his full contract will run through 2023.

Last year, Goldman suited up for 15 games, notching 29 tackles and a sack. As a big man in the middle, his true value isn’t really captured by the traditional stats. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus framed him as the 35th best interior defender in the league out of 118 qualified players, thanks in part to his work against the run. For Goldman, that was actually a down year, and he’s provided steady pressure against quarterbacks over the last two seasons.

The opt outs are piling up quickly, and there are surely more on the way. NFL players have until Friday to formally make the call.

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