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Kevin Minter

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/30/18

October 30th, 2018 at 7:07pm CST by Ben Levine

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Buccaneers To Sign LB Kevin Minter

October 23rd, 2018 at 2:13pm CST by Zachary Links

Well, that didn’t take long. Moments after completing his Tuesday afternoon workout, the Buccaneers signed linebacker Kevin Minter, according to Greg Auman of The Athletic (on Twitter). Details of the deal are not yet known, but it’s likely a one-year deal for something at or near the prorated portion of the veteran’s minimum. 

The Bucs had to make a move after losing two linebackers to ACL tears on Sunday. Minter now joins Adarius Taylor and Riley Bullough as middle linebacker options in the wake of catastrophic injuries to starter Kwon Alexander and backup Jack Cichy.

Minter offers experience as well as familiarity with the Bengals, who the Bucs will be facing on Sunday. Now with the Bucs, he’ll look to reprise his performance with the Cardinals rather than his disappointing year in Cincinnati.

Buccaneers Work Out LB Kevin Minter

October 23rd, 2018 at 1:37pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bucs’ search for linebacker help has led them to Kevin Minter, as Greg Auman of The Athletic tweets. Minter will audition for the team on Tuesday, and a deal could soon follow.

Bucs GM Jason Licht was in Arizona when Minter was drafted in 2013, so he’s familiar with what the veteran offers. Minter is still only 27 years old (28 in December) and had 81 tackles with 3.5 sacks for the Cardinals in 2016. Unfortunately, he was unable to offer a reprise of that performance last year with the Bengals. Minter played on fewer than 20% of the Bengals’ defensive snaps, seeing less action than sixth-round rookie Jordan Evans and barely playing ahead of undrafted free agent Hardy Nickerson. His season ended prematurely when a hamstring injury landed him on IR.

Minter was cut by the Jets in late August and did not land deals with the Giants or Texans despite working out for both teams in September. After losing ‘backers Kwon Alexander and Jack Cichy to IR, Minter may get an opportunity to play with the Bucs.

NFL Workout Updates: 9/25/18

September 25th, 2018 at 9:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here’s the latest from the workout circuit, all links going to NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted.

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • C Dillon Day, T Gerhard de Beer, T Christian DiLauro, DT David Parry (link)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • T Christian DiLauro (link)

Tennessee Titans

Giants Work Out Tony Lippett, Kevin Minter

September 4th, 2018 at 7:24pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Giants worked out cornerback Tony Lippett, linebacker Kevin Minter, and a host of other free agents on Tuesday, according to Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Lippett, who transformed from a collegiate wideout to an NFL corner, was a 13-game starter for the Dolphins in 2016, but didn’t make it through final cutdowns earlier this week after missing the entire 2017 campaign with a torn Achilles. Provided he’s now healthy, Lippett could give New York’s secondary a boost, as the only experienced players on the Giants cornerback depth chart are starters Janoris Jenkins and Eli Apple. The Giants know they have a problem in the defensive backfield, as they claimed three cornerbacks off waivers on Sunday.

Minter, 27, was cut by the Jets earlier this week after inking a one-year deal during the offseason. After starting 32 games for the Cardinals from 2015-16, Minter has struggled to find playing time (or even a job) in recent seasons. While he could conceivably offer depth behind starters Alec Ogletree and B.J. Goodson (and has familiarity with Giants defensive coordinator James Bettcher, formerly of Arizona), Minter hasn’t played special teams since his rookie season. That’s a problem for a backup linebacker, and could be why New York signed ST standout Nate Stupar — also a part of today’s cattle call — instead.

Here’s the full list of players who auditioned for the Giants on Tuesday:

Jets Officially Cut 18 Players

August 31st, 2018 at 6:27pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Jets’ roster is now at 71 players after the club announced 18 cuts today. Like all NFL teams, New York will need to reduce to 53 players by Saturday afternoon. Several of the following transactions were reported earlier today, but we’ll list them here as well:

Waived:

Released:

Jets Release Kevin Minter

August 31st, 2018 at 11:49am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets are cleaning house in advance of Saturday’s roster deadline. On Friday, Gang Green released the following players (via Manish Mehta of the Daily News, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY, and Darryl Slater of NJ.com.):

Minter is one of the bigger names in the bunch and one of the biggest surprises. Minter seemed likely to make the team as an inside linebacker, but evidently didn’t do enough to win the job. Minter‘s signed a one-year, $880K deal with the Jets in April, but the team won’t be on the hook for much more than his $90K signing bonus.

Bass had 3.5 sacks in 13 games for the Jets last season and did well according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus, but summer injuries ultimately cost him a place on the team for the fall.

The Jets will have the opportunity to add some of these players to their practice squad if they pass through waivers, but the team is unlikely to extend the invite to James, according to Slater.

Jets Notes: Rosen, Johnson, Minter, Dozier

April 12th, 2018 at 3:20pm CST by Zachary Links

If the Jets are looking to play it safe at quarterback, Josh Rosen would be the smart choice, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com argues. Of course, that’s assuming that Rosen will be on the board for Gang Green at No. 3 overall, and that’s far from a certainty.

That’s also not to say that Rosen is a slam dunk. Although Rosen has great mechanics, the Jets do have concerns about his accuracy. Conversely, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield has been lauded for his precision. The UCLA star also doesn’t have the arm strength of Wyoming product Josh Allen.

Currently, all signs are pointing to the Browns selecting Sam Darnold at No. 1 overall and there are rumblings that the Giants are not particularly interested in Rosen at No. 2. Assuming the Browns take Darnold and the Giants go with a non-QB, the Jets will get to choose between three of this year’s top four QB prospects.

Here’s more on the Jets:

  • Wide receiver Charles Johnson‘s contract with the Jets is a one-year, $1.5MM pact, Cimini tweets. The deal includes a $250K signing bonus, a $250K workout bonus, and a $1MM base. Johnson spent the 2017 season on the Panthers’ IR after a summer injury. He made some noise in Minnesota, but has not made a noticeable impact since 2014.
  • Linebacker Kevin Minter‘s contract with the Jets is a one-year, $880K deal with a $90K signing bonus, Cimini tweets. Same goes for guard Dakota Dozier.

Jets Sign Kevin Minter, Charles Johnson

April 9th, 2018 at 2:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jets have announced some under-the-radar signings that could pay dividends this season. Linebacker Kevin Minter and wide receiver Charles Johnson have agreed to terms with the Jets, Brian Costello of the New York Post tweets.

Minter spent the 2017 season with the Bengals and visited the Bills last month. He’ll return to a 3-4 scheme with the Jets and reunite with Todd Bowles, who coached Minter for two seasons as the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator.

Johnson did not play in 2017 but visited the Jets last month. He’s agreed to terms to join a somewhat crowded Gang Green receiving corps.

The Bengals signed Minter to start at middle linebacker, but he saw just 196 snaps in the nine games he played last season to lower his value. A seven-game starter, Minter saw a hamstring injury limit him and eventually send him to IR.

The Jets also made a splashy addition to their inside-linebacking contingent earlier this offseason in signing Avery Williamson. New York also has 2016 first-round pick Darron Lee, but he’s struggled as an NFLer thus far. Minter started all 32 regular-season games for the Cardinals from 2015-16 and entered the 2017 offseason with higher stock as a UFA. The former second-round pick may have to use this season to rebuild it.

Johnson spent last season on the Panthers’ IR after a summer injury. He signed for $2.2MM in Carolina last year after being a part-time Vikings starter. His most notable season came as a rookie in Minnesota. The Division II product posted 475 receiving yards and two touchdowns prior to the Vikings forming the Adam Thielen–Stefon Diggs pairing.

Johnson will join a Jets corps that now has Terrelle Pryor and Andre Roberts, to go along with 2017 starters Robby Anderson and Jermaine Kearse and second-year players ArDarius Stewart and Chad Hansen. Quincy Enunwa is also back from injury, so there will be a fight for receiving jobs in the coming months.

Bills Host LBs Kevin Minter, Karlos Dansby

March 20th, 2018 at 5:06pm CST by Dallas Robinson

After losing Preston Brown to the Bengals last week, the Bills are making moves to replenish their linebacker corps. Buffalo has met with free agent linebackers Kevin Minter and Karlos Dansby, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter links).

Minter started 32 games with the Cardinals from 2015-16, and had been expected to take on major responsibilities with Cincinnati after inking a one-year pact last spring. But Minter played on fewer than 20% of the Bengals’ defensive snaps, seeing less action than sixth-round rookie Jordan Evans and barely playing ahead of undrafted free agent Hardy Nickerson. Minter ended the 2017 season on injured reserve while dealing with a hamstring issue.

But Minter is still only 27 years old, and he offers more experience than other Bills options such as Matt Milano and Tanner Vallejo. Moreover, the off-ball linebacker market has mostly been picked over, as NaVorro Bowman is the only impact player left at the position. Minter, then, could be viewed as an attractive addition when compared with aging veterans such as Brian Cushing, Lawrence Timmons, or Jerrell Freeman.

Dansby, on the other hand, is one of those aging veterans, and like Minter, he’s also an ex-Cardinal. The 36-year-old has actually enjoyed three separate stints with Arizona, and has also spent time with Miami, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. An extremely durable linebacker, Dansby started 15 games a season ago, racking up 74 tackles and one sack while grading as the league’s No. 49 linebacker among 87 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.

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