HEADLINES

Jermaine Eluemunor

Raiders Place LB Nick Morrow, RB Jalen Richard On IR

September 2nd, 2021 at 4:19pm CST by Ben Levine

The Raiders are placing four players on IR. Running back Jalen Richard, linebacker Nick Morrow, and defensive backs Keisean Nixon and Javin White will be shelved for at least the first three weeks of the season, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). To take the open roster spots, the team has signed offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor and re-signed both tight end Derek Carrier and safety Dallin Leavitt. (via ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez on Twitter).

Richard has spent five seasons with the Raiders, including a 2018 campaign where he finished with 866 yards from scrimmage. He hasn’t been able to match that production over the past two years, combining for only 729 yards from scrimmage in 29 games. The 27-year-old is expected to be a primary backup to Josh Jacobs for another season in 2021.

Morrow had a career year for the Raiders in 2020, finishing with career-highs across the board. The linebacker has been dealing with a foot injury since late August, and he was expected to be sidelined for the start of the regular season. The team brought in some reinforcement at the position today when they signed veteran K.J. Wright.

Nixon has appeared in 29 games for the Raiders over the past two years, turning into one of the team’s special teams stalwarts. White, a 2020 undrafted free agent out of UNLV, got into four games with the Raiders as a rookie.

Jaguars Move Down To 53-Man Roster

August 31st, 2021 at 3:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jaguars are the latest team to squeeze their roster down to 53 players Tuesday. Here are the players the Urban Meyer-led regime cut to get there:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on reserve/NFI list:

Some big names at wideout appear on this list, and the Jags also released former first-round pick Phillip Dorsett earlier Tuesday. Cooper is a former All-Pro kick returner who has held regular return gigs since that 2017 breakout. The fifth-year role player was the Cardinals’ primary return man in 2019 and filled the same role with the Panthers last season. Like Dorsett, Treadwell arrived as a first-round pick. But the former Vikings draftee has not been able to find steady footing in the league.

Jacksonville drafted Williams in the 2019 third round — two rounds after younger brother Quinnen went to the Jets — but the young linebacker did not start a game in 2020. Luton did, but the Oregon State product did not profile as a steady backup option. The Jags are going with Meyer-era investments Trevor Lawrence and C.J. Beathard at QB. The Wilson move comes after the veteran safety operated as a Jags back-line starter for the past two seasons.

Jaguars Sign WR Devin Smith

August 28th, 2021 at 10:20am CST by Ben Levine

Devin Smith has earned himself another NFL gig. The veteran wide receiver signed with the Jaguars today, per ESPN’s Michael DiRocco (via Twitter). The team also signed offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor.

Smith was a standout playing for current Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer while the two were at Ohio State, and that performance made Smith a second-round pick by the Jets in 2015. The wideout proved to be a disappointment, as he collected only 10 receptions for 135 yards and one touchdown in 14 games (three starts) through two years with the team. To be fair, a torn ACL derailed his rookie campaign, and another ACL tear in 2017 forced him to miss the entire season. The receiver was ultimately waived by the team in 2018 and ended up sitting out that entire season, as well.

He got another chance in 2019 with the Cowboys, finishing with five receptions for 113 yards and one touchdown in four games (two starts). He was released by Dallas prior to last season, and he spent most of the 2020 campaign on the Texans and Patriots practice squad. New England held on to him for much of the 2021 offseason before ultimately cutting him last month.

In Jacksonville, Smith will have an uphill battle to make the roster. The Jaguars have DJ Chark, Laviska Shenault Jr., and Marvin Jones leading their depth chart, with notable names like Phillip Dorsett, Jamal Agnew, Laquon Treadwell, and Pharoh Cooper listed as backups.

Eluemunor, a 2017 fifth-round pick out of Texas A&M, spent two seasons with the Ravens before getting traded to the Patriots in 2019. The lineman spent two seasons in New England, appearing in 22 games with eight starts. He signed with the Dolphins earlier this offseason but was cut by the team earlier this week.

Dolphins To Cut OT Jermaine Eluemunor

August 24th, 2021 at 3:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins will cap Jermaine Eluemunor‘s Miami stay at less than three months. After signing the veteran tackle in June, the team opted to cut him on Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Miami is also placing wide receiver Lynn Bowden on IR, per Pelissero (on Twitter).

Eluemunor, who spent the past two seasons with the Patriots, was vying for a backup tackle gig in Miami. The Dolphins have done some shuffling on their offensive line, but they will move on without the four-year veteran ahead of the deadline for teams to cut their rosters down to 80 players.

This move comes days after the team acquired third-year tackle Greg Little from the Panthers. The Dolphins have now parted ways with multiple veteran O-linemen since the start of training camp. They placed D.J. Fluker on IR and reached an injury settlement to jettison the guard.

Eluemunor started eight games for the Pats last season, filling in for a team that again was down Isaiah Wynn for a stretch and one that lost Marcus Cannon to an opt-out choice. Pro Football Focus graded Eluemunor as a middle-of-the-road tackle, slotting him 47th at the position in 419 snaps. Eluemunor visited the Broncos earlier this year, but Denver opted to sign Bobby Massie and Cameron Fleming to fill its Ja’Wuan James-created void at right tackle.

The Dolphins acquired Bowden from the Raiders last summer, marking a strange NFL path for the 2020 third-round pick. Bowden contributed in a few Fins games, catching 28 passes for 211 yards for a receiver-deficient team. Miami expanded its wideout group this year, signing Will Fuller and drafting Jaylen Waddle in Round 1. Albert Wilson‘s return gave the Dolphins more depth, and Bowden was battling for a roster spot.

While the Dolphins could keep Bowden on IR all season and develop him, players who land on IR at this time of the year are often subsequently released from teams’ injury lists via injury-settlement payments. It is unclear if the Dolphins play to remove Bowden from IR via that transaction, but Tuesday’s move ensures he cannot play for the team in 2021.

The Dolphins also waived wideouts Robert Foster and Isaiah Ford, cutting the former with an injury designation.

Dolphins Sign T Jermaine Eluemunor

June 14th, 2021 at 3:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Former Patriots offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor will migrate to another AFC East team. The Dolphins agreed to terms with the veteran tackle Monday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. They waived tackle Timon Parris to clear a roster spot.

Eluemunor spent the past two seasons in New England but was not with the team during Brian Flores‘ Foxborough tenure. The Pats used Eluemunor as a starter in 2020 but made other moves at the position this offseason. Eluemunor was part of the veteran contingent to visit the Broncos after Ja’Wuan James‘ injury, but he did not land the gig. The 26-year-old blocker will instead try to make the Dolphins’ 53-man roster.

New England deployed Eluemunor as a first-stringer in eight games last season. Marcus Cannon‘s opt-out and Isaiah Wynn‘s latest injury trouble depleted the Pats at tackle, and Eluemunor also saw action inside. The Pats, however, picked up Wynn’s fifth-year option and reacquired Trent Brown via trade. Brown is set to play right tackle in his second New England stay.

The Dolphins have a slightly younger tackle group. Austin Jackson is set to return as Miami’s top left tackle, and the team drafted Notre Dame’s Liam Eichenberg in the second round. The Dolphins are moving 2020 right tackle Robert Hunt to guard. Eluemunor, Jesse Davis and D.J. Fluker represent veteran options for an O-line that could be one of the NFL’s youngest.

Broncos To Host Jermaine Eluemunor

May 11th, 2021 at 11:35am CST by Zachary Links

The Broncos’ right tackle seminar will also include Jermaine Eluemunor, according to Matt Lombardo of FanSided (Twitter link). The former Patriot will compete alongside Dennis Kelly, Bobby Massie, and Cameron Fleming as the Broncos look for help up front.

[RELATED: Broncos Meet With Cameron Fleming]

Eluemunor started out as a 2017 fifth-round pick of the Ravens. After starting in two games as a rookie and one game as an NFL soph, they traded him to the Patriots for a low-round draft choice. At that point, the Texas A&M product shifted from guard to right tackle and saw eight starts in 2020.

The Broncos are leaving no stone unturned as they look to replace Ja’Wuan James. Massie may be the most attractive option of the bunch, though he’s had injury trouble of his own. Last year, his season was cut short by a knee injury. And, in 2019, he was limited by an ankle issue. In total, he was limited to 64 games (all starts) for the Bears across the last five seasons.

 

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/14/20

November 14th, 2020 at 4:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Football Team 

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/21/20

October 21st, 2020 at 5:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: OL Matt Pryor

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

AFC East Notes: Gilmore, Bell, Callaway

September 6th, 2020 at 10:55am CST by Rory Parks

Patriots star CB Stephon Gilmore is set to earn $10.5MM this year, which is quite a bargain when considering that the top of the CB market now features average annual values in the $17MM range. But it does not appear that Gilmore is pushing for a new deal at this time, and though he missed five practices in a row last month, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com says the absence was not contract-related.

Now for a few more AFC East items:

  • For months, Jarrett Stidham looked like he would be the Patriots‘ starting QB and would serve as the heir apparent to Tom Brady. But now, Reiss says Stidham might actually be the third-stringer behind Cam Newton and Brian Hoyer, and his inability to generate any momentum in training camp has cast his long-term future in doubt.
  • In the same piece linked above, Reiss says that Jermaine Eluemunor has definitively seized the Patriots’ RT job.
  • Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, Jets RB Le’Veon Bell says he has no issues with head coach Adam Gase. In his first comments since his publicly questioning Gase’s decision to pull him out of a recent scrimmage, Bell said, “I don’t understand why everybody is trying to put me and Gase against each other. We’re not against each other. I don’t understand why it’s so hard to believe, but we actually like each other” (via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com). Though Bell may not make it past this year’s trading deadline with Gang Green, it is in his and Gase’s best interests to limit the drama and focus on getting Bell back to his old form.
  • Former Browns receiver Antonio Callaway recently tried out for the Dolphins, as Albert Breer of SI.com notes (via Twitter). Callaway, a 2018 fourth-round pick, has plenty of promise but has had a very rocky start to his pro career, including two separate suspensions for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He hooked on with the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers in January but suffered a leg injury shortly after signing, and this is the first time we have heard his name in NFL circles since then.
  • The Dolphins just waived QB Josh Rosen, and as Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets, the team could now reunite with Jake Rudock, who spent last season on the Miami practice squad.

Patriots Notes: QBs, Dugger, Jackson

August 23rd, 2020 at 12:08pm CST by Rory Parks

The Patriots did not guarantee Cam Newton the starting quarterback job after they signed him in late June, but assuming Newton is healthy, it would be shocking to see anyone else under center come Week 1. And the 2015 MVP was a “full go” when practices started earlier this month, so all signs are pointing towards Newton serving as New England’s signal-caller when the season opens in a few weeks.

Jeff Howe of The Athletic details how the “competition” has unfolded over the first few practices. Newton has taken the majority of first-team reps, and while he has not been perfect, his accuracy has been impressive. Jarrett Stidham, the second-year pro who was in line to replace Tom Brady before the Newton acquisition, has been dealing with a hip injury, and he has also struggled with interceptions. The team is not concerned about Stidham’s health, but the turnovers aren’t helping his cause.

Brian Hoyer, meanwhile, has had an up-and-down camp thus far, but considering his experience and familiarity with the Patriots’ offense, Howe says the 34-year-old remains an option to start during the early stages of the season.

Now for more notes out of Foxborough:

  • The Patriots’ top draft choice in 2020, safety Kyle Dugger, may struggle to see early playing time on defense because of how much the condensed offseason is impacting rookies’ abilities to learn the pro game. But as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes, the team is eyeing Dugger as its top return specialist. The Lenoir-Rhyne product returned 67 punts for 929 yards and six TDs during his collegiate career.
  • In the same piece linked above, Reiss says Jermaine Eluemunor is in the mix to replace Marcus Cannon — who opted out of the 2020 season — at right tackle. Though Yodny Cajuste appeared to be the favorite for the job, Reiss writes in a separate post that Cajuste, a 2019 third-rounder, appears to be buried on the depth chart.
  • Reiss adds that J.C. Jackson‘s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has touched base with the Patriots about an extension for his client. As a former UDFA, Jackson is now extension-eligible despite having just two years of service time. He has become a key piece of New England’s secondary and has recorded eight interceptions over his first two professional seasons.
  • Lamar Miller‘s one-year deal with the Pats will feature a $1.05MM base salary with $200K guaranteed, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Miller can earn up to $1.5MM more in achievable incentives.
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