Tuesday’s workout updates (links via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle or ESPN’s Adam Caplan):
Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Rams
Minnesota Vikings
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
The Texans worked out free agent linebacker Jonathan Freeny on Tuesday, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Freeny, a five-year NFL veteran, started his career as a special teams player in Miami, but his most notable time came with the Patriots from 2015-16. During that time, Freeny appeared in 18 games and started 11 contests before going down with a shoulder injury last October.
Despite agreeing to a two-year extension prior to last season, Freeny was released during final cutdowns earlier this month. He’s generated interest around the NFL, however, as the Giants and Bears have also worked out Freeny over the past several weeks.
On the hunt for linebacker depth following Brian Cushing‘s 10-game PED suspension, the Texans also auditioned former Vikings linebacker Audie Cole today. Houston is currently starting Benardrick McKinney and second-round rookie Zach Cunningham at inside linebacker, while Brian Peters and undrafted rookie Dylan Cole are the club’s backups.
The Texans also took at look at linebacker Josh Mauga and cornerbacks Johnthan Banks, Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Josh Thornton, Corey White, and B.W. Webb, as Wilson writes in a separate piece.
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
Los Angeles Rams
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After an injury kept Josh Mauga off the field in 2016, the linebacker re-signed with the Chiefs on Thursday, his agent, Michael Hoffman, announced (on Twitter).
Mauga, who made his NFL debut with the Jets in 2010, joined the Chiefs after the 2013 campaign and played a prominent role with the team from 2014-15. The 250-pounder started in all 30 regular-season appearances during that span, piling up a career-high 103 tackles in 2014 and then notching 57 more stops and a pair of interceptions in 2015. Mauga’s performance ranked an impressive 34th among Pro Football Focus’ qualified linebackers in ’15, but he wasn’t able to build on that last year after suffering a labral tear in his hip during the summer.
Now, the 30-year-old Mauga will rejoin a Chiefs inside linebacker corps that includes Derrick Johnson and Ramik Wilson in starting positions. Mauga, who filled in well for an injured Johnson two years ago, brings more experience than fellow reserves Justin March-Lillard, Terrance Smith and D.J. Alexander.
In other moves, the Chiefs signed safety Steven Terrell and waived punter Will Monday, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. Terrell, a three-year veteran, was a notable contributor as a role player in Seattle last season. He appeared in each of the Seahawks’ regular-season contests, combined for 560 snaps (384 on defense, 176 on special teams), tallied the first five starts of his career and totaled a personal-high 23 tackles. He’s now among four reserve safeties in Kansas City, which also has Daniel Sorensen, Eric Murray and sixth-round rookie Leon McQuay III behind starters Eric Berry and Ron Parker.
The Chiefs added Monday back in May. He spent some of last offseason with the Steelers after signing with them as an undrafted free agent from Duke. Monday hasn’t appeared in an NFL game.
The Chiefs have lost linebacker Josh Mauga for the season due to a labral tear, according to Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Chiefs Shopping QB Aaron Murray]
Mauga, 29, started 14 games for the Chiefs at inside linebacker, racking up 45 tackles, two interceptions, and a sack. Over the past two seasons, Mauga has become an unheralded force in the middle of Kansas City’s defense, as he’s started 30 games during that period. He was especially valuable in 2014, when he filled for the injured leader Derrick Johnson. In 2015, Mauga graded as the No. 34 LB in the league, per Pro Football Focus.
Mauga is signed through the 2017 campaign, with cap hits of $2.7MM and $3.75MM in the next two years.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
There were some conflicting – or at least confusing – reports on Friday night about the value of Marshawn Lynch‘s new contract with the Seahawks, and Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun provides some clarity today, via Twitter. According to Wilson, Lynch’s new three-year pact is worth $31MM, which features $15MM in guaranteed money, including a $7.5MM signing bonus.
Wilson has plenty more numbers on new contract agreements, so let’s round up those updates, with all links going to his Twitter unless otherwise indicated:
The Chiefs have reached a contract agreement with linebacker Josh Mauga, and are re-signing him to a new three-year deal worth $8MM, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Mauga had been eligible for unrestricted free agency.
Playing on a minimum salary in 2014, Mauga logged significant time at inside linebacker for the Chiefs, playing more than 1,000 defensive snaps in his first full season as a starter. In my look at the free agent market for inside linebackers, I viewed Mauga as a second-tier player due to his subpar performance against the run last season. While the 27-year-old wasn’t a detriment to the unit in pass coverage, and got after the quarterback every now and then, his poor grade against the run ensured that he ranked 54th out of the 60 qualified ILBs, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Still, the Chiefs liked Mauga enough to lock him up for three seasons, and will likely pencil him in as a starter again for the 2015 season. We’ll have to see whether $8MM is really the base value of the contract or not, and it’s not clear how much of that money is guaranteed, but it looks like a solid deal for the young linebacker.
It’s Saturday morning, and that means ESPN.com’s NFL writers are opening their mailbags and answering questions from readers. Let’s start off the day with some whispers from the AFC…
THURSDAY, 10:09am: The Chiefs confirmed the two signings today, adding that linebacker DeRon Furr has been cut and fullback James Baker has been placed on the reserve/did not report list (Twitter links).
WEDNESDAY, 11:32am: The Chiefs are expected to officially finalize a pair of signings shortly, adding offensive tackle Ryan Harris and linebacker Josh Mauga to the roster. The news of Harris’ signing comes from the tackle himself, who tweets that he’s “beyond happy to be a Chief.” Meanwhile, agent Michael Hoffman of Premier Sports tweets the news of Mauga agreeing to terms with Kansas City.
Harris, 29, has spent the first six years of his NFL career with the Broncos and Texans, starting 39 of his 78 total games. Although he was a reserve last season in Houston, Harris appeared in each of the team’s 16 games and logged 485 offensive snaps, primarily at right tackle.
Mauga, 27, played for the Jets from 2010 to 2013, appearing in 29 games during his first three years but missing last season with a back injury. His best year for the Jets came in 2011, when he made nine tackles on special teams and also played 145 snaps on defense. For the Chiefs, Mauga figures to compete for a role primarly as a special-teamer.
Neither move has been formally announced by the Chiefs yet, so we’ll have to wait for the club to make the signings official and to indicate which players are being cut to make room for the new additions.
More and more beat writers are providing season previews, roster breakdowns, position battles, etc. as training opens (for one team, at least) in just a few hours. So let’s have a look at some links from around the league: