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Jalen Mills

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/18/24

December 18th, 2024 at 7:32pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s minor NFL moves across the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Indianapolis Colts

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mills, the former Eagles’ and Patriots’ starter had taken on a bigger role in New York as usual starter Tony Adams took fewer snaps due to a hamstring injury. He’ll miss the remainder of the season due to a broken collar bone.

Forsythe had taken over as the starting right tackle following an injury to George Fant in the season opener before ending up on injured reserve himself with a hand injury.

Watts’ 21-day practice window has come and gone without an activation. As a result, he’ll revert back to IR without the ability to be activated.

Jets Rumors: HCs, Kingsbury, Johnson, Moses, Adams, McDonald

November 17th, 2024 at 10:02pm CST by Ely Allen

There are going to be plenty of question marks for the Jets to solve this offseason, but the most important one is going to be the head coaching position. After firing Robert Saleh in early-October, Jeff Ulbrich has been serving as interim head coach, but in the last ten years, only three of 23 interim coaches have been hired for the official job following their interim duties.

According to Connor Hughes of SportsNet New York, team owner Woody Johnson is overseeing the head coaching search, and the organization has already “started putting feelers out on potential head coaching candidates.” This doesn’t bode well for Ulbrich, who has only gone 1-5 since taking over as the interim head coach.

Here are a few other rumors coming out of New York:

  • Speaking of head coaching searches, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury interviewed for the Jets’ open job back in 2019. According to Brian Costello of the New York Post, Kingsbury’s interview “went terribly,” partially due to the fact that he likely already knew that the Cardinals’ job was his. Six years later, Kingsbury’s name is likely to pop up again this offseason in head coaching conversations. He may get a second chance at his Jets interview.
  • With a head coaching search in progress and a potential change in general manager looming, as well, Johnson’s role as owner becomes a crucial one. According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, though, there’s reportedly uncertainty because of Johnson’s volatility. Specifically, there appears to be a sense that Johnson takes too many opinions from “nonfootball people” and listens far too often to social media and the internet. That’s a scary concept for Jets fans to swallow as they gear up for another potential rebuild.
  • According to Costello, Jets starting right tackle Morgan Moses has been playing through a grade 2 MCL sprain, a meniscus issue, and a fracture in his knee for the last several weeks. Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, Moses has been “sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber and rehabbing around the clock” in order to get into playing shape each week.
  • Per Rich Cimini of ESPN, the Jets are experimenting with giving starting safety Tony Adams a bit less time on the field. An every-down player since 2023, Adams is the team’s third-leading tackler this season despite missing four tackles last week and missing the prior two games with a hamstring injury. Jalen Mills had been filling in during Adams’ absence, and he may be taking up the slack as Adams handles a reduced role.
  • Defensive end Will McDonald didn’t do too much to live up to his first-round draft status as a rookie last year. In Year 2, McDonald is looking much more worthy of the Day 1 pick, totaling eight sacks in ten games this season. There were assumptions after the draft that the Jets had reached for McDonald after the Steelers traded ahead of them to draft offensive tackle Broderick Jones, the assumed target of New York. According to Cimini, general manager Joe Douglas always preferred McDonald over Jones, intending to pair him opposite their first-round pick from the previous year, Jermaine Johnson, for the foreseeable future. McDonald’s sophomore success has made it clear that perhaps the Jets did not reach, as many assumed.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/23/24

October 23rd, 2024 at 7:33pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: LS Matt Orzech
  • Waived: DL Jonathan Ford

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

The Bears should soon be getting some offensive reinforcement. Most notably, lineman Larry Borom returned to practice today after missing the first chunk of the season with an ankle injury. The former fifth-round pick has been a reliable swing OT for the Bears over the past three years, starting 23 of his 39 appearances. The team will also welcome back Travis Homer, who has been sidelined since Week 3 with a finger injury. The veteran RB may have a tough time cracking the rotation upon his return with D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, and Khalil Herbert currently leading the depth chart. The Bears will have 21 days to activate either of the two players to the 53-man roster.

Jordan Phillips was back at Cowboys practice today after landing on IR in mid-September. The defensive lineman’s injury wasn’t ever made particularly clear; the Cowboys claimed the player was favoring his previously repaired wrist, although the player later hinted that he was forced to the sideline because of conditioning. After more than a month on the shelf, the veteran will now get another look. The Cowboys acquired Phillips from the Giants back in August, and the veteran only got into about one fourth of his team’s defensive snaps before landing on IR. Phillips appeared in 26 games for the Bills between 2022 and 2023, collecting 35 tackles and four sacks.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/19/24

October 19th, 2024 at 6:29pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s minor moves and standard gameday practice squad callups:

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Autry was hit with a six-game PED suspension in July, leaving the Texans without a key figure along the defensive line. The free agent pickup could have suited up by means of Houston using his one-week roster exemption; instead, he has been activated in time for Week 7. Autry, 34, posted a career-high 11 sacks last season and he will look to make an immediate impact during his Texans debut. Especially with Mario Edwards having been issued a four-game suspension of his own earlier this week, he should have a notable role right away.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/14/24

October 14th, 2024 at 6:39pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest transactions from around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Houston Texans

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Jones will get to make his Cardinals debut in Week 7 after serving a five-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Arizona requested and received a one-week roster exemption so Jones could get acclimated to his new offense before being added to the 53-man roster. He will bring a veteran presence to a young Cardinals receiver room that lost Marvin Harrison Jr. to a concussion on Sunday.

Jets Sign DB Jalen Mills To Practice Squad

September 23rd, 2024 at 5:55pm CST by Ben Levine

The Jets are adding some depth to their secondary. The team is signing defensive back Jalen Mills to the practice squad, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The Jets are plenty familiar with Mills after he spent the past three seasons with their division rival in New England. Mills played a handful of different roles during his time with the Patriots. After spending his first two years with the team as a cornerback, he spent the 2023 campaign at safety. He only graded 75th among 95 qualifying safeties on Pro Football Focus, and the Patriots ultimately decided to move on this past offseason.

Mills caught on with the Giants back in March but spent most of his stint with the team on the NFI. He was cut by the Giants in August and has spent the first few weeks of the regular season unsigned.

While Mills struggled last season, there’s a chance he still has something left in the tank. The veteran got into 90 percent of his team’s defensive snaps as recently as 2021, and he was a staple of Doug Pederson‘s defense during his time in Philly (where he won a Super Bowl in 2017 as a starting CB). Current Jets GM Joe Douglas was in Philly’s front office for much of Mills’ tenure in Philly, so the executive is probably plenty familiar with what he’s getting.

It’s uncertain exactly where Mills would fit in New York. The team is locked in at cornerback with Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed, and Michael Carter II, and safeties Chuck Clark and Tony Adams have barely missed any snaps this season. Most likely, Mills will provide the Jets with some veteran insurance in the likely chance that an injury pops up.

Giants To Release DB Jalen Mills

August 15th, 2024 at 9:03am CST by Adam La Rose

Jalen Mills was placed on the non-football injury list in July, preventing him from taking part in the Giants’ training camp. The veteran defensive back is no longer in the team’s plans, but he could find a deal in advance of the regular season.

Mills is being released from the NFI list, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. He adds the 30-year-old has now recovered from the calf strain he was dealing with, and as a result he could draw attention as a free agent. Once his release becomes official, Mills will be eligible to sign with an interested team (rather than having to clear waivers).

Beginning his career as a corner with the Eagles, the former seventh-rounder has also seen time at safety. Mills spent the past three seasons with New England, serving as a regular on defense. He saw his playing time drop considerably from 2021 to ’22 and then again last year, though. Mills quickly agreed to terms on a one-year Giants pact aimed at helping to fill the void created by Xavier McKinney‘s departure.

That contract only contained $468K in guarantees, so releasing Mills will not carry major financial implications for the Giants. The team’s attention will remain focused on finding a safety partner for Jason Pinnock in the starting lineup, an ongoing competition between Dane Belton and second-round rookie Tyler Nubin. Belton appears to have the have the inside track on a first-team gig, although plenty can change over the coming weeks.

Mills is a veteran of 106 games and 83 starts. He logged a 90% defensive snap share as recently as 2021, so he could be counted on to at least handle a rotational role in the secondary upon finding a new team. It will be interesting to see if his market takes shape right away, or if he will need to wait for roster cutdowns at the end of the month to determine his next move.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/23/24

July 23rd, 2024 at 8:25pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: OT Julién Davenport

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

  • Reverted to IR: WR Jared Wayne
  • Released from IR: WR Jaxon Janke

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Giants To Add DB Jalen Mills

March 12th, 2024 at 4:31pm CST by Ben Levine

For a second straight offseason, the Giants have lost a starting safety. Xavier McKinney following Julian Love out of New York creates a void. They will bring in Jalen Mills to help fill it.

The former Patriots and Eagles defender is joining the Giants, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Mills has experience at safety and cornerback but played more on the back line last season. The Giants need more help at that spot.

The former seventh-round pick quickly burst onto the scene in 2016, but after missing only one game through his first two seasons in Philly, he was limited to 17 games between 2018 and 2019. When he returned in 2020, he was playing safety, and he proceeded to have one of the most productive seasons of his career, finishing with a career-high 74 tackles.

That performance earned him a four-year, $24MM contract from the Patriots in 2021. He started all 26 of his appearances through his first two seasons in New England, mostly playing cornerback. He was cut and re-signed last offseason and transitioned back to safety, where he got into 17 games (eight starts). He only graded 75th among 95 qualifying safeties on Pro Football Focus, although the site did give him one of the highest grades at his position in run defense.

The Giants do have some continuity among their safeties corps with Jason Pinnock. Mills will likely be in the mix for the other safety spot, competing with the likes of former fourth-round pick Dane Belton for reps.

Patriots “Sniffing Around” At Potential Trades

October 28th, 2023 at 9:42am CST by Ben Levine

We heard earlier this week that the Patriots were “willing to listen to offers” leading up to the trade deadline. According to Albert Breer of SI.com, New England’s front office may be the side that is initiating trade talks.

[RELATED: Latest On Patriots’ Deadline Plans]

The Patriots are “sniffing around” to see what draft compensation they could get for some of their logical trade candidates. Breer points to offensive lineman Michael Onwenu, safety Kyle Dugger, and defensive end Josh Uche as players who could be on the trade block. All three players are impending free agents, and despite possessing a chunk of 2024 cap space, the organization may want to move on from players they may not re-sign.

Breer opines that Uche is the player who’s most likely to be traded since he’d “probably be the most difficult of the group to re-sign.” The former second-round pick has followed up his 11.5-sack 2022 campaign by collecting six tackles and two sacks in six games this year. While his numbers this season are underwhelming, his pass-rushing ability means the Patriots would still be able to bring back a worthwhile return in a trade. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler agrees that Uche is a name “worth watching,” noting that the pass-rusher has garnered trade interest around the NFL. Likewise, based on his conversations with multiple teams, Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal believes Uche has the best chance of any current Patriot to be dealt.

On the flip side, Breer thinks Onwenu is the least likely of the group to be traded. The Patriots will use the rest of the 2023 campaign to evaluate Mac Jones, and Breer can’t envision the organization hurting the QB’s chances by subtracting from the offense. Following that same logic, Breer also doesn’t see wide receiver Kendrick Bourne getting traded, and Mike Reiss of ESPN.com does not think New England will part with any top talent unless it receives at least a third-round pick in return. Of course, if another club were willing to take on an onerous contract (JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker) as part of a deal for a player like Uche, the Pats would certainly listen.

Breer adds one more name to the list of potential trade candidates: Jalen Mills. The defensive back has served in a variety of roles with the Patriots since joining the organization in 2021. Mills got through two years of his four-year, $24MM deal before getting cut back in March, but he quickly rejoined the Patriots on a new pact. While the Patriots have dealt with a number of injuries in their secondary, Mills has only seen time in 26 percent of New England’s defensive snaps this season.

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