HEADLINES

Josh Bynes

Seahawks To Add Josh Bynes To Staff; Chargers, Ravens Showed Interest

February 20th, 2024 at 6:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Josh Bynes announced his retirement in December; he already has a coaching gig lined up. Bynes will bypass the quality control level as well and join former coach Mike Macdonald in Seattle.

Enjoying three stints as a Raven, Bynes will reunite with his former defensive coordinator soon. He accepted an offer to join the Seahawks’ staff, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. This came after an interesting derby for the veteran linebacker. It is unclear if other teams extended the former linebacker offers, but Wilson adds the Chargers and Ravens interviewed Bynes this offseason.

Bynes, 34, will step in as the Seahawks’ assistant linebackers coach. He will join fellow recent linebacker retiree Daren Bates on Macdonald’s first Seattle staff. Known for his special teams work, Bates is onboard as the Seahawks’ assistant ST coach. Given Bynes’ background with Macdonald, he should be quite familiar with the system the Seahawks plan to run.

Initially a Ravens UDFA back in 2011, Bynes returned to Baltimore in 2019. Macdonald was his position coach during that stint, working as the Ravens’ LBs instructor under Don Martindale from 2018-20. When Bynes came back for his final tour of duty in Maryland — from 2021-22 — Macdonald had ascended to the defensive coordinator role. Bynes made that season his last in the league.

Despite Bynes’ journeyman status, he remained a Ravens starter to open the 2022 season. The team turned to the veteran alongside Patrick Queen for the season’s first seven games, keeping that arrangement in place until trading for Roquan Smith before the 2022 deadline. Bynes did not play following that trade, though he remained with the Ravens on a practice squad deal. Following the likes of NaVorro Bowman and Dont’a Hightower, Bynes will transition from linebacker duty straight onto an NFL staff. Bynes will also be working under DC Aden Durde and senior assistant Leslie Frazier.

The Seahawks are also expected to hire Jeff Howard as their defensive backs coach, per 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz. Howard worked as an assistant under Frazier in Minnesota. He served as pass-game coordinator under Joe Woods in Cleveland from 2020-22, coaching the Browns’ DBs, and stopped in as the Chargers’ linebackers coach last season.

LB Josh Bynes Retires

December 8th, 2023 at 9:44am CST by Adam La Rose

Josh Bynes‘ NFL career will not extend to a 13th season. The veteran linebacker revealed on Friday that he has retired as a member of the Ravens, the team with which he spent much of his career.

Bynes entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent, finding his first regular opportunity with Baltimore. He established himself as a rotational member of the team’s defense and a key special teams contributor in 2012, something which became evident in the postseason. Bynes made the final tackle in Super Bowl XLVII, a play which earned him his lone championship and helped put him on the radar of other teams.

The Auburn alum spent three seasons with Detroit from 2014-16, starting 19 of his 38 games in the Motor City. He then joined the Cardinals on the most lucrative pact of his career (three years, $5.58MM). Bynes served as a full-time starter in his second and final Arizona season before returning to the Ravens in 2019. His play his second Baltimore stint earned him a deal with the Bengals for the following season, during which he posted a career-high 99 tackles.

That campaign was followed by another return to the Ravens, where Bynes earned 19 combined starts across the 2021 and ’22 seasons. In all, he racked up 582 tackles, 8.5 sacks and five interceptions in 138 career games (82 starts). Now 34, Bynes will hang up his cleats with roughly $9.4MM in career earnings. As he turns his attention to the next chapter of his life, he indicated (via Ryan Mink of the Ravens’ team website) coaching could very well be in his future.

“The thing I’m most proud of is perseverance,” Bynes said when reflecting on his career. “I’ve been released, cut. I’ve been told I wasn’t good enough, not fast enough to play in the league, wouldn’t be in the league long at all even if I had the opportunity to play. I can show my peers that regardless of what anybody says, you can do anything. You just go out there and prove it every single day. I feel like I proved that for my entire 12 years.”

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/27/22

December 27th, 2022 at 8:48pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Denver Broncos

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Ravens Waive LB Josh Bynes

December 23rd, 2022 at 8:14pm CST by Ely Allen

The Ravens have once again parted ways with veteran linebacker Josh Bynes, according to Field Yates of ESPN, releasing the 33-year-old today. The loss is not a significant one to the Ravens defense considering Bynes has been inactive since October.

Bynes was introduced to the NFL as an undrafted free agent in Baltimore back in 2011. In his second season with the team, Bynes was elevated to the active roster from the practice squad following an injury to Ray Lewis but remained a backup behind starters Dannell Ellerbe and Jameel McClain. An eventual injury to McClain would grant Bynes his first career starts near the end of the regular season. Bynes would go on to make the final tackle of the Ravens’ Super XLVII victory.

Bynes was named a season starter in the following year after Lewis’s retirement, but he would eventually lose the starting job to McClain and would be placed back on the practice squad following the drafting of C.J. Mosley in 2014. Bynes was signed off Baltimore’s practice squad by the Lions and would eventually become a starter in Detroit, as well, finishing second on the team in 2015 with 82 total tackles.

After his time with the Lions, a short stay in Arizona would be followed with a second stint in Baltimore. He would follow that with his best career season in Cincinnati in 2020, when he would finish third on the team with a career-high 99 total tackles. Bynes would spend the 2021 preseason in Carolina before getting cut in final roster decisions. Now a journeyman, Bynes would return to Baltimore for a third time, finally getting an opportunity as a full-time starter. After a strong 2021 season, the Ravens re-signed Bynes to one-year deal for this season. A quadriceps injury in a Week 7 win over the Browns would take him out of the lineup and keep him inactive for the next seven games.

Luckily for Baltimore, its in-season addition of linebacker Roquan Smith helped ease the team’s loss of Bynes. Having operated for so long without Bynes at this point, his dismissal from the roster shouldn’t require much of an adjustment. Starters Smith and Patrick Queen are still backed up by Malik Harrison and special teamers Kristian Welch and Del’Shawn Phillips.

In an additional couple of roster moves, the Ravens have promoted quarterback Anthony Brown and wide receiver Andy Isabella from the practice squad as standard gameday elevations against the Falcons tomorrow. With star passer Lamar Jackson inactive for tomorrow’s contest, Brown will be elevated to perform backup duties behind fill-in starter Tyler Huntley. Isabella is making his Ravens debut and should provide depth to a receiving corps that currently shows Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay, and Tylan Wallace all on injured reserve. Huntley will be passing to the likes of Demarcus Robinson, DeSean Jackson, newly re-acquired Sammy Watkins, James Proche, and Isabella.

Contract Details: Gilmore, Cooks, Nelson, Smith, Bynes, Watkins

April 20th, 2022 at 8:54pm CST by Ely Allen

Here are some details on deals recently signed around the NFL:

  • Stephon Gilmore, CB (Colts): Two-year, $20MM. The deal includes $10.51MM guaranteed at signing and $14MM in overall guarantees. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Gilmore’s Year 1 payout will total $10.02MM.
  • Brandin Cooks, WR (Texans): Two-year, $39.76MM. The deal includes $36MM guaranteed at signing consisting of the $16MM signing bonus (applied over three years) and the first two years of base salary ($2MM in 2022 and $18MM in 2023), according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Cooks will have a per game active bonus of $29,411 for a potential season total of $500,000 and will receive a roster bonus in 2024 of $3MM.
  • Steven Nelson, CB (Texans): Two-year, $9MM. The deal is worth up to $10MM, according to Wilson. It includes $4.5MM guaranteed at signing consisting of a $2MM signing bonus, the 2022 base salary of $1.75MM, and $750,000 of the 2023 base salary. Nelson will have a 2022 per game active bonus of $44,117 for a potential season total of $750,000 and a 2023 per game active bonus of $58,832 for a potential season total of $1MM. The deal includes an unspecified incentive worth $250,000 for the 2022 season.
  • Geno Smith, QB (Seahawks): One-year, $3.5MM. The deal is worth up to $7MM, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, with up to $3.5MM worth of incentives likely triggerable if he wins the starting job. The deal includes a guaranteed amount of $500,000.
  • Josh Bynes, LB (Ravens): One-year, $1.27MM. According to Jamison Hensley of ESPN, the deal includes $600,000 of guaranteed money consisting of the signing bonus worth $152,500 and $447,500 of the base salary (worth $1.12MM total).
  • Sammy Watkins, WR (Packers): One-year, $1.85MM. The deal includes a signing bonus of $350,000 and is worth up to $4MM, according to USA Today’s Ryan Wood, with incentives for playtime, catches, yards, and touchdowns. Watkins can earn an extra $150,000, $350,000, or $525,000 if he plays a snap count percentage of 55%, 60%, or 65%, respectively. He can earn an extra $150,000, $350,000, or $525,000 if he records a receptions total of 50, 60, or 70 catches, respectively. He can earn an extra $150,000, $350,000, or $525,000 if he has yardage totals of 550, 650, or 700, respectively. Lastly, Watkins can earn an extra $150,000, $350,000, or $575,000 if he catches 7, 8, or 9 touchdowns, respectively.

Ravens To Re-Sign LB Josh Bynes

April 8th, 2022 at 3:49pm CST by Sam Robinson

After seeing Bobby Wagner sign with the Rams, the Ravens are bringing back one of their own at linebacker. Josh Bynes will return to Baltimore, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com tweets.

Bynes agreed to a one-year deal Friday. This will continue Bynes’ third stint in Baltimore, which acquired him as a UDFA in 2011 and brought him back in 2019. After a year in Cincinnati in 2020, Bynes returned to the Ravens and started 12 games last season.

Baltimore deployed Bynes and Patrick Queen as its primary off-ball linebackers last season, using the former on 61% of their defensive snaps. Bynes played far more regularly than 2020 third-rounder Malik Harrison and, despite going into his age-33 season, will have a chance to reprise his role in 2022.

Last season, Bynes made 76 tackles (six for loss) and registered two sacks in 2021. The Auburn alum has played with four teams, also seeing time with the Cardinals and Lions, but the Ravens have been his most frequent NFL employer.

The Ravens offered Wagner a deal that included $18MM fully guaranteed in the first two years, but the Rams convinced the Los Angeles native to return home. Bynes returning may not mean Baltimore is done at inside linebacker, but this could allow the Ravens to allocate their top remaining offseason resources to other areas.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/28/21

September 28th, 2021 at 5:24pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/25/21

September 25th, 2021 at 4:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

The weekly Saturday bunch of minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Promoted: WR Juwan Green

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Ravens To Sign LB Josh Bynes To Practice Squad

September 1st, 2021 at 11:49am CST by Sam Robinson

Shortly after the Panthers released Josh Bynes, the veteran linebacker reached an agreement with a familiar team. The Ravens are bringing Bynes back, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets.

Because Bynes is a vested veteran, he did not need to pass through waivers after his Panthers exit. Bynes entered the NFL 10 years ago as a Ravens UDFA and found his way back to Baltimore in 2019. The Ravens will return to this well ahead of Bynes’ age-32 season.

The Ravens kept four inside linebackers — starters Patrick Queen and Malik Harrison and backups Chris Board and Kristian Welch — so Bynes profiles as high-end insurance, at the very least. It would seem likely the veteran off-ball ‘backer will make his way onto Baltimore’s active roster again at some point.

Bynes spent last season with the Bengals, operating as a 16-game starter. He made 99 tackles during his one-season Cincinnati stay. The 2019 Ravens used Bynes as a seven-game starter, after he largely worked as a backup and occasional first-stringer during his initial Baltimore stint from 2011-14.

Panthers Set Initial 53-Man Roster

August 31st, 2021 at 3:17pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Add the Panthers to the list of teams who have officially trimmed their roster down to the required 53 players. Remember this is only the initial roster, so not everybody who was spared Tuesday will make it through to the regular season after the waiver wire frenzy the next few days.

Here’s the list of players Carolina cut on Tuesday:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on season-ending IR

You’ll probably recognize at least a few names on this list, including Bynes, Grier, Kirkwood, and Bonnafon. Bynes is a veteran linebacker with 117 appearances and 63 starts under his belt since entering the league all the way back in 2011. He started all 16 games for the Bengals last year, but it took him until just a few weeks ago to get signed by Carolina.

Grier is the West Virginia product who had a fair amount of buzz coming out of college. Despite some initial talk that he could get drafted in the first or second-round, he ended up as a third-round pick in 2019. He ended up starting two games for the Panthers as a rookie, struggling mightily while tossing four interceptions and no touchdowns. Carolina is throwing in the towel after just two seasons, electing to roll with only P.J. Walker behind Sam Darnold. Grier should be able to at least end up on somebody’s practice squad.

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