Emmanuel Moseley - Pro Football Rumors

CB Rumors: Jackson, Lions, Jaguars, Apple

August 9th, 2023 at 2:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

Adoree’ Jackson served as the Giants‘ No. 1 cornerback last season, his second with the team. Despite coming off injury, Jackson fared well against Justin Jefferson in the Giants’ wild-card win. But the team is experimenting on a potential shift in the veteran’s role during training camp. Jackson has seen extensive time in the slot in camp, and Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News notes the prospect of Jackson in the slot and Deonte Banks and Tre Hawkins outside is viable.

The Titans used Jackson as an outside corner during his Tennessee tenure, and the Giants stationed Darnay Holmes in the slot last year. They also drafted Cor’Dale Flott as a slot option in last year’s third round. But Holmes has struggled during camp, per Leonard. Hawkins, chosen in the sixth round out of Old Dominion, does not have slot experience. Jackson’s willingness as a tackler would benefit the Giants if they followed through on this, though the move is not set in stone. Holmes still operated as the team’s lead slot defender in a joint practice against the Lions on Wednesday, Dan Duggan of The Athletic tweets. Hawkins being in consideration for a regular role would be notable for a Giants team that struggled for CB depth last year.

Here is the latest from NFL secondaries:

Emmanuel Moseley‘s cleanup procedure on the ACL he tore last year has led to an unexpected delay in his return. Moseley reported to camp late due to the surgery, and the Lions placed the free agent signing on the active/PUP list. While Dan Campbell said last week the team expected Moseley back soon, the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett notes no timetable exists for the ex-49er’s return, adding that he may not be a lock to start the season on time. This surgery has provided another delay for Moseley, who signed a one-year, $6MM deal that came with $2MM guaranteed. Campbell confirmed Moseley’s absence to start camp was excused.
Fellow UFA addition Cameron Sutton and Jerry Jacobs have worked as Detroit’s starting cornerbacks in camp, and while the return of Moseley will give the Lions another starter-level corner, rookie UDFA Starling Thomas has made enough of an impression that Birkett added he is a good bet to make the 53-man roster. He of a 4.28-second 40-yard dash at UAB’s pro day, Thomas has been running with the Lions’ second-stringers at corner alongside Will Harris.
Few battles for starting spots are transpiring in Jacksonville, but the Jaguars are holding one at nickel corner. Despite bringing back Tre Herndon on another one-year deal, the Jags are pitting the sixth-year veteran against several players for the slot role. Second-year players Gregory Junior (Round 6) and Montaric Brown (Round 7) join sixth- and seventh-round rookies Erick Hallett and Christian Braswell in vying for this job, per Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com. Fifth-round safety Antonio Johnson has mixed in here as well. Herndon re-signed on a fully guaranteed $2.58MM deal. Formerly surpassing 900 defensive snaps in back-to-back years, Herndon finished with just 416 last season.
Eli Apple‘s Dolphins deal is worth $1.6MM over one season, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes. Incentives could take the veteran corner’s contract up to $2.28MM. While the $1.6MM is not entirely guaranteed, the former top-10 pick received a $250K signing bonus.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/2/23

August 2nd, 2023 at 7:07pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league:

Carolina Panthers

Placed on PUP: DL John Penisini

Denver Broncos

Placed on IR: WR Tim Patrick (story)

Detroit Lions

Signed: TE Darrell Daniels, TE Daniel Helm
Placed on PUP: CB Emmanuel Moseley
Waived: TE Derrick Deese

Green Bay Packers

Claimed off waivers (from Panthers): LB Arron Mosby
Waived: OLB LaDarius Hamilton

Houston Texans

Released: DE Demone Harris

Kansas City Chiefs

Activated from PUP: DL Tershawn Wharton

Las Vegas Raiders

Waived: LB Kana’i Mauga

Miami Dolphins

Waived/injured: S Bennett Williams
Waived: P Michael Turk

Minnesota Vikings

Signed: T Christian DiLauro
Waived/injured: OL Sam Schlueter

New England Patriots

Waived: WR Ed Lee

New Orleans Saints

Signed: G Tommy Kraemer
Claimed off waivers (from Packers): G Chuck Filiaga
Placed on IR: LB Andrew Dowell
Waived/injured: T Scott Lashley

Pittsburgh Steelers

Signed: CB Isaiah Dunn, S Trenton Thompson
Placed on IR: CB Cory Trice
Waived/injured: RB Alfonzo Graham

Tennessee Titans

Signed: C Jimmy Murray
Waived: WR Jacob Copeland

Moseley reportedly had a small clean-up procedure on his knee the other day as he continues to come back from last year’s ACL tear. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, it doesn’t appear to be a major setback, and head coach Dan Campbell expects Moseley back on Monday.

The news on Harris’s retirement comes from KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson, who reports that the two sides “are parting ways as (Harris) plans to retire.” If this is truly the end of the road for Harris, then the transaction puts a cap on a five-year career that saw Harris rack up 11 total tackles, two tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits in the NFL.

Turk was urgently brought on as an undrafted rookie out of Oklahoma to compete with free agent addition Jake Bailey, formerly with the Patriots. The punter competition may be over quickly as Bailey is the only punter on the roster now.

Trice, the Steelers’ first of two seventh-round picks this year, suffered a non-contact injury at camp yesterday. His placement on injured reserve indicates that his rookie season has unfortunately come to an end before it had the chance to begin.

Latest On Emmanuel Moseley, Lions’ CB Room

July 10th, 2023 at 2:29pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Lions spent considerable free agent and draft resources to revamp their secondary, leaving optimism for improved play on the backend in 2023. A key position battle looms for the unit in training camp, though.

Cameron Sutton – who signed a three-year, $33MM contract in free agency – is in line to serve as Detroit’s top outside cornerback this season. Expectations will be high for the ex-Steeler given not only the terms of his deal, but also the vacancy he is filling (one which was once occupied, in part, by former No. 3 pick Jeff Okudah). The Lions also inked C.J. Gardner-Johnson to a one-year pact, but he is expected to primarily play in the slot this season.

That leaves the second perimeter corner job up for grabs, as detailed by Tim Twentyman of the team’s website. The top two contenders for the role are free agent signing Emmanuel Moseley and returnee Jerry Jacobs. The former received $6MM on a one-year deal in March, giving him an opportunity to rebuild his value after his 2022 season was ended by an ACL tear. That injury put him in the Lions’ price range, however.

General manager Brad Holmes recently admitted, via Colton Pouncey of The Athletic, that Moseley’s injury – and the resultant damage it did to his value on the open market – was likely necessary for Detroit to be able to afford him (subscription required). The 27-year-old was in the midst of his second consecutive campaign as a full-time starter for the 49ers last season before the ACL tear, so recovering from it could give the Lions a low-cost, high-upside contributor. Moseley’s progress with respect to rehab has been encouraging to date, Twentyman notes.

Jacobs, meanwhile, spent the beginning of the 2022 season rehabbing his own ACL tear from the previous season. Upon his return to the field, though, he was a standout performer on an otherwise disappointing Lions secondary. The 25-year-old racked up one one interception, eight pass deflections and 42 tackles in eight contests. He also allowed a completion percentage of just 53.3% in coverage, pointing to signficant potential moving forward.

With Moseley still rehabbing, Jacobs logged the majority of first-team reps during spring practices. Presuming the former is able to participate in training camp, though, it will be interesting to watch how the workload is divided between the two (as well as second-round rookie Brian Branch, who showcased a diverse skillset during his college career). Regardless of how their individual competition plays out, a signficant step forward on defense in general, and in the secondary in particular, should be expected in the Motor City.

Lions CBs Emmanuel Moseley, Jerry Jacobs To Compete For Starting Role

June 25th, 2023 at 8:24am CST by Rory Parks

Despite narrowly missing the playoff field in 2022, the Lions finished last in the league in total defense and in the bottom-five in scoring defense. Part of GM Brad Holmes‘ efforts to improve upon that performance included a secondary overhaul this offseason.

Holmes traded Jeff Okudah, the No. 3 overall pick of the 2020 draft who failed to live up to the expectations that Detroit’s Bob Quinn/Matt Patricia regime had for him, to the Falcons. He also allowed Mike Hughes to depart in free agency while adding Cameron Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the defensive backfield.

Of that trio of free agent newcomers, only Sutton landed a multiyear deal, and he is expected to occupy one of the starting boundary corner spots while Gardner-Johnson operates as the Lions’ primary nickel. As Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press notes, Moseley will likely start opposite Sutton as an outside-the-numbers CB, though he will be competing with Jerry Jacobs for the gig. He will also need to get healthy.

Per Birkett, Moseley — who sustained an ACL tear in October as a member of the 49ers — sat out OTAs and mandatory minicamp as he continues to rehab his injury. He did take some first-string walk-through reps, and he impressed the coaching staff by staying with the team for the final week of OTAs after head coach Dan Campbell had excused most of his players.

Moseley, a 2018 UDFA, broke through as a key player for the 49ers during the 2019 season and landed a two-year, $10.1MM contract in March 2021. Unfortunately, a knee injury and an ankle malady forced him to miss six games during the 2021 regular season — though he did return to play every snap of the team’s three-game playoff run — and his October ACL tear dampened his market during his first foray into unrestricted free agency, which forced him to accept a one-year deal from the Lions worth up to $6MM (according to OverTheCap.com, Moseley’s $2MM signing bonus accounts for his only guaranteed money, and his contract also includes a $3MM base salary and up to $1MM in per-game roster bonuses).

When he has been on the field, the Tennessee product has generally played well. He earned a solid 68.7 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in 2021 and a 70.9 mark for his limited work in 2022, and PFF thought highly of his coverage abilities in both years. Underscoring those metrics are the miniscule 65.6 and 66.9 quarterback ratings that he has yielded over the past two seasons, and he also has the ability to line up in the slot should DC Aaron Glenn want to move Gardner-Johnson around the formation.

Jacobs, though, will represent worthy competition, and he will be highly-motivated to retain a significant role on the Lions’ defense as he enters a platform year. The 2021 UDFA has played in 25 games (17 starts) for Detroit over the past two seasons, and while PFF assigned him a poor 55.8 overall grade in 2022, he earned a 65.8 score in his rookie campaign. Quarterbacks throwing in his direction last year had a meager passer rating of 70.0.

Birkett did not offer any insight as to Moseley’s Week 1 availability, but it does not sound as if he will miss too much regular season time, if any.

“He’s anxious man,” new cornerbacks coach Dre Bly said of Moseley. “He was a pretty daggoone good player out there in San Fran. He’s from North Carolina, went to Tennessee, played with [Sutton], so those guys are kind of wired the same and so just to see his fire to get back on the field, his commitment to working and rehabbing, it tells you about the man. When most guys are traveling and vacationing, he’s here working to make sure he’s ready when we come back to camp. So I’m excited to have a chance to work with him. I think he brings a tremendous amount of leadership and experience to our room and can’t wait to see what comes from that.”

Lions To Sign CB Emmanuel Moseley

March 14th, 2023 at 2:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Lions have now agreed to terms with two free agent cornerbacks. They are bringing in Emmanuel Moseley, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter).

A former 49ers starter, Moseley is coming off an injury-shortened season. He suffered an ACL tear in October. The Lions are giving him a one-year, $6MM deal, per Schefter. This follows Detroit’s Cameron Sutton signing.

While Sutton profiles as a high-value get, given his market, the Lions have been a bit more cautious regarding their other defensive additions. They have now added Moseley and re-signed three of their own — defensive linemen Isaiah Buggs and John Cominsky and linebacker Alex Anzalone — as they attempt to move on from a season in which Aaron Glenn’s unit ranked last in scoring defense.

Moseley stayed in San Francisco on a two-year, $9.4MM contract back in 2021, and he played a starting role for the first of the team’s back-to-back 2020s seasons that ended in the NFC championship game. Moseley, who turns 27 next week, started a career-high 11 games that season. He added three postseason starts that year, but the ACL tear sustained the following season squashed the momentum he was building.

Had that ACL setback not occurred, this $6MM price may not come too close. A 49ers UDFA find, the 5-foot-11 cover man allowed passer ratings — as the closest defender in coverage — of 65.6 and 66.9 in 2021 and ’22. Pro Football Focus also viewed the young defender well, ranking him just outside the top 30 in both 2019 and ’21. He notched a pick-six for San Francisco’s No. 1-ranked defense prior to going down last season.

Moseley will join Sutton in attempting to elevate Detroit’s cornerback crew. The team still has Bob Quinn-era draftee Jeff Okudah on its payroll, though the Ohio State product has not panned out as expected. Once on the extension radar, Amari Oruwariye is now a free agent. The Lions ranked 30th against the pass last season; they might not be done augmenting their corner contingent.

49ers Want To Retain CB Emmanuel Moseley

February 5th, 2023 at 11:56am CST by Rory Parks

The 49ers would like to re-sign cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, as GM John Lynch told reporters at his end-of-year presser last week. “He’s a guy we’d have interest in bringing back because of the way he plays, but also what he stands for,” Lynch said. “He’s one of us and we’d sure like to have him back” (via Kirk Larrabee of 49ers WebZone).

Moseley, a 2018 UDFA who broke through as a key player for the Niners during the 2019 season, landed a two-year, $10.1MM contract in March 2021. Unfortunately, a knee injury and an ankle malady forced him to miss six games during the 2021 regular season — though he did return to play every snap of the team’s three-game playoff run — and an ACL tear suffered in October cut his 2022 season short after just five games.

Even if the recent injury woes come up in contract negotiations, Lynch apparently is unconcerned about Moseley’s long-term prognosis. He indicated that Moseley’s recovery is going smoothly, and while he did not explicitly say so, it sounds as if Moseley could be cleared for the start of the 2023 season.

When he has been on the field, the Tennessee product has generally played well. He earned a solid 68.7 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in 2021 and a 70.9 mark for his limited work in 2022, and PFF thought highly of his coverage abilities in both years. Underscoring those metrics are the miniscule 65.6 and 66.9 quarterback ratings that he has yielded over the past two seasons, and his ability to line up outside the numbers and in the slot further enhance his value.

Speaking of value, Spotrac suggests that Moseley could land a four-year deal paying him just shy of $17MM per season on the open market. As Larrabee notes, it is unclear if Lynch will need to go that far, with Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area recently suggesting that Moseley may have to settle for a one-year, “prove-it” deal. On the other hand, the fact that the 49ers do not boast much by way of proven CB depth behind Charvarius Ward and 2021 fifth-rounder Deommodore Lenoir — who performed well in the playoffs after an uneven regular season — could help Moseley’s leverage.

Longtime safety Jimmie Ward did line up as a nickel corner down the stretch of the 2022 season and acquitted himself nicely, but he is out of contract, and Maiocco believes he will want to return to his natural safety position. Maiocco says the club could seek another affordable pact with Tashaun Gipson, who signed a modest one-year deal at the start of the season as an injury replacement for Jimmie Ward and who never relinquished his hold on the the starting free safety job. If that happens, the team would likely bid adieu to Jimmie Ward.

49ers Place DT Javon Kinlaw On IR

October 15th, 2022 at 3:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 49ers have determined Javon Kinlaw will need another IR stay. After spending much of last season on IR, the third-year defensive tackle is back on the team’s injured list as of Saturday.

Kinlaw is still dealing with problems related to his surgically repaired knee. The former first-round pick said recently he expected to be playing through some knee pain this season, but the 49ers have been without him for the past two games. That run will extend to at least six, with Kinlaw being forced to miss four additional games due to being placed on IR today.

Drafted 14th overall shortly after the 49ers traded Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to obtain that draft position, Kinlaw has not panned out. He missed 13 games last season and has 1.5 career sacks, which came during his rookie campaign. The South Carolina alum has battled intermittent knee trouble since his college days. A 2020 first-round choice, Kinlaw appeared in 14 games (12 starts) in his rookie year, but needed season-ending knee surgery (which was later reported to be an ACL reconstruction) early during the 2021 season.

Kinlaw and Arik Armstead entered the season as San Francisco’s defensive tackle starters. Both are out of the picture for the time being. Armstead remains on the 49ers’ 53-man roster but has missed two of the past three games due to injury. A foot problem is currently plaguing the eighth-year D-lineman. It is among the many injury issues affecting what has been a dominant 49ers defense.

Nick Bosa is uncertain to play in Week 6, while linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair is on IR due to an MCL sprain. The team will be without cornerback Emmanuel Moseley for the rest of the season — Moseley is now on IR — and will see Jimmie Ward likely sidelined for multiple games due to a broken hand. Ward, who missed the season’s first four games due to a hamstring injury, broke his hand on the first play of his debut last week.

49ers CB Emmanuel Moseley Suffers Torn ACL

October 10th, 2022 at 11:53am CST by Adam La Rose

OCTOBER 10: As feared, Mosely did indeed suffer a torn ACL yesterday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. He will now undergo season-ending surgery in advance of hitting the open market this spring.

OCTOBER 9: The 49ers improved to 3-2 on the season with today’s win over the Panthers, but they paid a heavy price for it on the injury front. A number of key players left the game early, including cornerback Emmanuel Moseley. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the contest that Mosley is believed to have suffered a torn ACL.

ESPN’s Nick Wagoner tweets that further testing will be done in the next 24 hours to confirm the diagnosis. Assuming it is true, though, the injury would end Moseley’s season and deal a significant blow to San Francisco’s defense. 2022 has been the second straight campaign in which the former UDFA has been a full-time starter.

Mosely entered today’s game with 19 tackles and three pass breakups, putting him on pace to at least match his production in recent years. Able to play both on the outside and in the slot, he has been an effective member of the 49ers’ secondary. That earned him a two-year deal last offseason, which will see him make $4.4MM in guaranteed money this season. Heading into free agency, however, his focus will now turn to recovery.

The 49ers have a number of options available to replace Moseley. Among them is veteran Jason Verrett, who has been designated to return after starting the season on the PUP list. The 31-year-old has dealt with a myriad of injuries throughout his career, but could prove to be an effective complement to fellow starter Charvarius Ward if he is able to return to full health.

In other injury news, starting safety Jimmie Ward suffered a broken hand, as noted by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link). An extended absence from him would be problematic for the 49ers’ defense, but not as much as one from star pass rusher Nick Bosa. He left the game with a groin injury, so his status will be the subject of plenty of scrutiny in the coming days. Kicker Robbie Gould, meanwhile, exited due to a knee injury.

NFC West Rumors: 49ers, Cardinals, Metcalf

July 2nd, 2022 at 7:37pm CST by Ely Allen

Not long ago, we wrote about the 49ers’ cornerback depth chart, claiming Charvarius Ward and Emmanuel Moseley were the starting outside corners this spring with Darqueze Dennard and rookie fifth-round pick Samuel Womack competing for the the starting nickel cornerback job, while second-year defender Ambry Thomas slots in as the No. 3 corner on the outside.

A slight alternative to the starting scenarios was proposed earlier this week by Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News. He agrees that Dennard and Womack seem to be going head-to-head for the nickel-back role, but posits that, should neither cornerback seize the starting opportunity, San Francisco could formulate a rotation that would see Moseley shift inside and Thomas come in to cover the outside.

If Dennard and Womack can’t convince the coaches that they’re more valuable to have on the field than Thomas, the above situation could unfold. It makes sense that the 49ers would want the best three defenders on the field and could utilize other cornerback combinations to take advantage of specific matchups.

Here are a couple of other rumors from out of the NFC West, starting with a note out of Glendale:

A little over two weeks ago, the Cardinals signed two former Chiefs’ defenders in cornerback Josh Jackson and linebacker Ben Niemann. The two have had diametrically contradicting career paths with the former second-round pick, Jackson, slowly falling into obscurity while the former undrafted free agent, Niemann has earned more and more responsibility each year he’s been in the league. Both of their contracts, though, will be worth the league minimum, according to Sports Illustrated’s Howard Balzer. While that’s a hard pill to swallow for Jackson after the high expectations that came with his draft position, Niemann is likely grateful to be heading into his fifth year of NFL football for the second team to give him an opportunity after initially going undrafted.
Seahawks wide receiver D.K. Metcalf has been pushing the organization for a new contract lately. The 24-year-old is set to head into the last year of his rookie contract and, while he does want to get paid, he’s also providing the Seahawks a head start on the rest of the league on what would be his eventual free agency. While Metcalf is looking at recent deals like that of his former college teammate, A.J. Brown, the absolute floor of Metcalf’s hypothetical extension was set this week when the Commanders extended star receiver Terry McLaurin, Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus writes. Kyed justifies the opinion, saying that, while PFF grades Metcalf slightly lower than McLaurin, Metcalf is over two years younger and has produced at a slightly higher level than McLaurin over their first three years in the league. Whether or not Metcalf undoubtedly deserves more than McLaurin, McLaurin’s new deal sets an intriguing bar as extension talks continue in Seattle.