Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: CB Jaylen Hill
- Waived with failed-physical designation: Bam Bradley
New York Jets
- Re-signed: OL Brent Qvale
Washington Redskins
- Re-signed: G Zac Kerin
It won’t be this year or the next, but at some point before he calls it quits on a likely Hall of Fame career, cornerback Richard Sherman is likely to make the move to safety, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch writes.
The four-time First Team All-Pro selection is open to it at least, saying:
“It’s definitely something that I’ve looked at,” Sherman said. “And something that I’ve talked with (Charles Woodson) about.”
In the first of a three-year deal with the 49ers, Sherman still rates as an above average cornerback according to Pro Football Focus. Now in his 30s, however, the star defender is already looking to make a similar move that prolonged the careers of Charles Woodson, Rod Woodson and Aeneas Williams. Despite the move, don’t expect him to play into his late 30s.
“I think 35 is probably my cutoff,” Sherman said. “I don’t think I want to play … they’d have a hard time getting me out of bed at 35 to go play. I think I’ve got four or five more (years) in me.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- After his benching, Blake Bortles is unlikely to be back with the Jaguars next season, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio writes. With $6.5MM of Bortles’ $16.5MM contract next season guaranteed, the Jaguars can hope that some team signs him for $6.5MM — unlikely — or package him in a trade with a team that would be considering signing him, a la Brock Osweiler. The Jaguars will still have a cap charge of $10MM, but the team can push $5MM of that into 2020.
- The Ravens did not activate cornerback Jaylen Hill from the PUP list, officially ending his season. Recovering from a torn ACL and MCL, Hill was unlikely to take the field after recently suffering a setback.
- With the college game becoming more intertwined with the professional ranks, Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports listed 10 college coaches who could make the jump to the NFL. To no one’s surprise, Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley was at the top of the heap thanks to his high-powered offense that produced a Heisman Trophy winner in Baker Mayfield, and potentially another in Kyler Murray. Other notable names on the list include Stanford’s David Shaw, former 49ers coach and current Michigan man Jim Harbaugh and Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald.
Steelers franchise-tagged running back Le’Veon Bell didn’t report earlier this week, meaning he won’t play in 2018 and will likely leave Pittsburgh next spring (the Steelers could still use the transition tender, but that wouldn’t bind Bell to Pittsburgh). Given that Bell will hit the open market, Mike Sando of ESPN.com (ESPN+ subscription required) asked NFL executives where Bell will play in 2019, and for how much. The Jets and Buccaneers are seemingly viewed as the favorites to land Bell, while clubs like the Packers and Redskins are viewed as under-the-radar candidates to add the former All-Pro. As far as price tag, execs believe Bell could ask for $16-17MM annually, but will ultimately fall in the $15MM/year range. Sando’s entire piece is well-worth a full read.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- Veteran edge defender Tank Carradine worked out for the Cowboys today, but Dallas doesn’t have any plans to sign the free agent, reports Todd Archer of ESPN.com. The Cowboys currently have five defensive linemen on their injury report, so they could be shorthanded when they face the Falcons on Sunday. Carradine, for his part, signed with the Raiders in the spring but was cut in early October after playing limited snaps. He’s worked out for four clubs since, but the 28-year-old — who appeared in 44 games with the 49ers from 2014-17 — has yet to find a new home.
- Cowboys center Travis Frederick hasn’t played this season after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome near the end of training camp, but he recently regained feeling in his hands, as David Moore of the Dallas Morning News writes. Frederick still doesn’t have any feeling in his feet, and it doesn’t sound as though he’s particularly close to returning to the field, but the news is certainly noteworthy nonetheless. “I mean the fact there is some light at the end of the tunnel is definitely a positive,” said Frederick. Without Frederick available, Joe Looney has taken over at the pivot for Dallas.
- Thing aren’t going well in Oakland, where the Raiders have posted a 1-8 record under head coach Jon Gruden, and the stress of a dismal 2018 campaign seemed to boil over following Sunday’s loss to the Chargers. “I gotta get the (expletive) outta here,” one anonymous veteran said in full view of reporters, per Matt Schneidman of the Mercury News. Per Football Outsiders, the Raiders have a 54.5% chance of securing the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft and a 95% chance of receiving a top-five selection.
- Ravens cornerback Jaylen Hill has been on the physically unable to perform list all season after tearing his ACL last December, but the second-year defensive back returned to practice today, the club announced. Hill, who joins Maurice Canady as the second Baltimore cornerback to come back to practice this week, played in six games for the Ravens in 2017 after going undrafted out of Jacksonville State. Baltimore now opens a three-week window during which it must either activate Hill or leave him on PUP for the remainder of the year.
The Ravens have initiated the process of moving their roster to 53 players by announcing several transactions today. Baltimore’s roster now stands at 72 players following these moves:
Waived:
- DB Robertson Daniel
- OL Andrew Donnal
- OL Justin Evans
- TE Nick Keizer
- DE Christian LaCouture
- S Kai Nacua
- CB Jackson Porter
- WR DeVier Posey
- LS Trent Sieg
Waived/injured:
- LB Alvin Jones
Placed on injured reserve:
Placed on reserve/PUP (minimum six-game absence):
- WR Quincy Adeboyejo
- LB Bam Bradley
- CB Jaylen Hill
Teams are doing lots of spring cleaning today, so we’ll split the moves into two separate posts for each conference. First up, the AFC:
- The Raiders announced the signing of safety Marcus McWilson. A Kentucky product, McWilson played in 13 games for the Wildcats in 2016, racking up 108 tackles (4.5 for loss) and one interception, which he returned for a touchdown.
- Following suit on a busy transaction day for fringe roster cogs, the Ravens added four UDFAs to their offseason roster. Baltimore added linebacker Randy Allen (South Alabama), wide receiver Aaron Bailey (Northern Iowa), defensive back Jaylen Hill (Jacksonville State) and tackle Roubbens Joseph (Buffalo), Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com reports.
- The Browns signed defensive backs Donte Carey and Najee Murray. Both players participated in the team’s rookie minicamp on a tryout basis. To make room, the team waived offensive lineman Josh Boutte.
- The Titans signed defensive lineman Jimmy Staten, a fifth-round draft pick by Seattle in 2014. In addition to Staten, they inked defensive lineman Cameron Robbins (Northwestern), linebacker Johnny Ragin (Oregon), cornerback Trevon Hartfield (Southwestern Oklahoma State), and kicker Jordan Gay (Centre). Staten, Robbins, Ragin and Hartfield all took part in the team’s rookie minicamp. To make space, the Titans waived defensive lineman Roderick Henderson and linebacker Reshard Cliett.
- The Jets announced the signing of linebacker Jevaris Jones and released fellow linebacker Austin Calitro.
- The Colts signed free agent guard Blake Muir and four undrafted free agents: cornerback Dante Blackmon, safety Tyson Graham, wide receiver Al-Damion Riles, and offensive tackle Andrew Wylie. To make room for the new players, the team parted ways with center/guard Austin Blythe (a 2016 seventh-round pick) and cornerback Frankie Williams. The Colts also waived three 2017 UDFAs: wide receiver Jerome Lane, cornerback Chris Lyles, and guard Chris Muller.
- The Bills have signed linebackers Abner Logan and Anthony Harrell while waiving safety Jeremy Tyler and linebacker Junior Sylvestre.