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Kyle Love

Kyle Love Retires From NFL

March 28th, 2021 at 3:40pm CST by Zachary Links

Defensive tackle Kyle Love announced his retirement on Sunday (via Instagram). Love, 34, did not play in 2020 and he will not seek NFL employment for 2021. 

Love entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State in 2010. He spent three seasons with the Patriots, appearing in 41 total games before being diagnosed with diabetes and waived with a non-football illness designation. He appeared in only three contests from 2013-14 while playing for the Chiefs, Jaguars, and Panthers, but he eventually reestablished his career with Carolina. From 2017-2019, Love appeared in at least 37% of the Panthers’ defensive snaps. Last year, after six years with the Panthers, he agreed to join the rival Buccaneers.

Love was set to serve as a rotational piece behind of Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh, but he was released before the final cut in September. We here at PFR wish Love the best in retirement.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/3/20

September 3rd, 2020 at 5:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Thursday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: TE Khari Lee

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Indianapolis Colts

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Buccaneers Sign DT Kyle Love

August 16th, 2020 at 12:17pm CST by Rory Parks

The Buccaneers have agreed to sign veteran DT Kyle Love, as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Love, 33, has spent the last six years as part of the defensive front for the division-rival Panthers.

Love entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State in 2010. He spent three seasons with the Patriots, appearing in 41 total games before he was waived with a non-football illness designation due to a diabetes diagnosis. Love appeared in only three contests from 2013-14 while playing for the Chiefs, Jaguars, and Panthers, but he’s since reestablished his career with Carolina.

In the past three seasons, Love has appeared in at least 37% of the Panthers’ defensive snaps. For what it’s worth, however, Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics ranked him near the bottom of the league’s interior defenders.

Still, Tampa Bay does not have a ton of defensive line depth behind its starting trio of Vita Vea, Ndamukong Suh, and William Gholston, so Love will add some valuable experience to the rotation. He has 15 sacks and four forced fumbles in his career.

Panthers Re-Sign DT Kyle Love

April 15th, 2019 at 10:02am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Panthers have re-signed defensive tackle Kyle Love to a one-year deal, Carolina announced Monday.

Love was part of a four-man defensive tackle rotation for the Panthers in 2018, playing 468 snaps while appearing in all 16 games. Kawann Short, Dontari Poe, Vernon Butler, and Love all played between 33% and 59% of Carolina’s defensive snaps a season ago, and all four are set to return next year.

Love, 32, entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State in 2010. He spent three seasons with the Patriots, appearing in 41 total games, before he was waived with a non-football illness designation after being diagnosed with diabetes. Love played in only three contests from 2013-14 while playing for the Chiefs, Jaguars, and Panthers, but he’s since reestablished his career with the Carolina, totaling 57 games since 2015.

Last offseason, Love re-signed with the Panthers on a two-year, $2.2MM deal that contained $200K in guaranteed money.

Contract Details: Foles, Carr, Poe, Cowboys

March 17th, 2017 at 5:28pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Here’s a fun fact from Albert Breer of The MMQB (Twitter links): Of the 155 free-agent contracts that have been filed since March 9, only 23 have more than $3MM fully guaranteed in post-2017 money. In essence, that means 85.2% of the contracts done over the last ten days are one-year deals with team options.

Now for the latest contract details:

  • Cornerback Brandon Carr‘s four-year, $23MM Ravens contract comes with $6MM in 2017 – most of which is by way of a $4MM signing bonus – and then the Ravens will have a 2018 team option, reports Breer (on Twitter).
  • Falcons defensive tackle Dontari Poe‘s one-year, $8MM accord features a $500K signing bonus and incentives for playing time, sacks and a Pro Bowl appearance (Twitter link via Breer).
  • Quarterback Nick Foles‘ previously reported two-year, $11MM deal with the Eagles is actually a five-year, $27.5MM pact, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. However, the final three years of the contract will void if Foles is still on Philadelphia’s roster 23 days before the start of the 2019 league year. The arrangement comes with $5MM in incentives and an esclator for 2018 worth as much as $6MM (Twitter links).
  • Panthers defensive tackle Kyle Love‘s two-year contract is worth $2.2MM and features a few bonuses – $200K for signing, $25K for workouts and $10K per game active – as well as $500K in annual incentives, tweets Wilson.
  • Cowboys running back Darren McFadden‘s one-year contract is a minimum salary benefit deal worth $980K (a salary of $900K and an $80K signing bonus). Guard Jonathan Cooper‘s single-year accord is worth $2MM and has a $31,250 bonus per game active, $500K in incentives and a $100K workout base de-esclator (Twitter links via Wilson).
  • Cardinals running back/wide receiver Andre Ellington will earn a $775K base salary on his one-year agreement, tweets Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910.
  • Redskins defensive tackle Ziggy Hood’s two-year, $2.7MM deal includes a $300K signing bonus, per-game active bonuses of $15,625 each, $600K in incentives and a $600K escalator. Meanwhile, the Redskins gave linebacker Chris Carter a minimum salary benefit deal worth $855K, including $775K in salary and a signing bonus of $80K, relays Wilson (Twitter links).
  • Saints running back Travaris Cadet also got a minimum salary benefit contract for 2017, says Wilson (Twitter link). It’s worth $855K ($775K in salary and an $80K signing bonus).

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Panthers Re-Sign DT Kyle Love

March 15th, 2017 at 5:46pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Panthers have re-signed defensive tackle Kyle Love to a two-year deal, the club announced today.Kyle Love

Love, 29, played in a rotational capacity for Carolina last season, and given the current state of the Panthers defensive line, that’s likely the role he’ll play in 2017. In addition to placing the franchise tag on Kawann Short, the Panthers also signed/re-signed ends Julius Peppers and Charles Johnson, each of whom has the ability to slide inside on obvious passing downs. Star Lotulelei, Vernon Butler, and Chas Alecxih are also in the mix on Carolina’s front four, so Love may see his snap percentage tick down from the 21% rate it hit in 2016.

Love appeared in 10 games (one start) for the Panthers last year, and racked up 16 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. Pro Football Focus wasn’t fond of Love’s work, however, assigning him a lackluster 44.3 grade for the season, though he did earn above-average pass-rushing marks. All told, Love has played in 26 games during his three-year stint with Carolina.

Extra Points: Broncos, Siemian, Seahawks

September 29th, 2016 at 2:27pm CST by Zachary Links

Could the Broncos use Trevor Siemian as trade bait? Adam Schefter of ESPN.com wonders aloud if Denver could shop the quarterback at some point given that Paxton Lynch is their signal caller of the future. The Broncos drafted the Memphis product with the idea that he could play right away and there are surely plenty of teams that would have interest in Siemian now that he has proven himself to be a capable QB. By the same token, the Broncos are 3-0 and they’re obviously not looking to jettison their starter right now.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • How does new acquisition C.J. Spiller fit into the Seahawks running back picture? ESPN.com’s Sheil Kapadia says that Spiller will take over on third downs and be used in the passing game. Meanwhile, it will be mostly Christine Michael as Thomas Rawls and C.J. Prosise heal up. Spiller didn’t do much with the Saints but he did have two 1,110+ yard seasons while with the Bills. Seattle is hoping that he still has a bit left in the tank.
  • Safety Michael Griffin and defensive tackle Kyle Love each got one-year deals when they signed with the Panthers, according to the team’s official announcement. Carolina agreed to sign both players on Tuesday afternoon.
  • The Packers tried out defensive tackles Brandin Bryant, Lars Koht, and Joey Mbu as well as offensive tackle Lawrence Walker, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • Defensive tackle John Hughes‘ deal with the Patriots is a one-year, $760K deal, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. He gets a $428K injury split but no signing bonus or guaranteed money.
  • The Chiefs worked out former Idaho offensive tackle Jesse Davis yesterday, as Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets.

Panthers Sign S Michael Griffin, DL Kyle Love

September 27th, 2016 at 4:37pm CST by Zachary Links

The Panthers announced that they will sign safety Michael Griffin and re-sign veteran defensive tackle Kyle Love. Michael Griffin

At the age of 31, Griffin is not the player he once was. But, he still managed to start 14 games for Tennessee last season, accruing 65 tackles, one interception, and one sack. He was not expected to be a focal point of Minnesota’s secondary and before the season opener, the Vikings decided that he didn’t have a place on the roster either. Griffin is no longer a top safety, but he can certainly provide help at the position for Carolina. Last season, he logged 100 or more tackles for the sixth time in seven years.

Love, 29, will give the Panthers additional defensive line help while Vernon Butler deals with a high ankle sprain. Love spent the offseason with the Panthers but missed the 53-man cut in early September.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Extra Points: Garoppolo, Eagles, Bucs

September 14th, 2016 at 3:34pm CST by Zachary Links

Should the Patriots trade quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo if the option arises next offseason? Doug Kyed of NESN.com looks at all of the Patriots’ options for their young quarterback and reasonably concludes that no team could meet the high asking price that the Pats would put on him. The Pats already have a franchise QB in Tom Brady, but Garoppolo is 15 years younger and its obviously hard to find quality players at the position. Looking ahead, Garoppolo will be eligible for free agency after the 2017 season. The Patriots could, in theory, discuss an extension with him before that point, but it’d be a tough sell unless he was assured a starting job at some point and given starting money.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • In addition to Aaron Dobson, the Eagles‘ Monday workout included three other wide receivers and quarterback Brad Sorensen, Geoff Mosher of 97.5 tweets. Sorensen, 28, was signed by Minnesota in August, released later that month, re-signed after Teddy Bridgewater’s season-ending injury, then cut again in early September. He has yet to throw a pass in an NFL regular season game.
  • The Buccaneers brought in former New England and Carolina defensive tackle Kyle Love for workout on Tuesday, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. However, they are not signing him at this time and are only evaluating their options, Auman adds.
  • Vikings center Joe Berger gets a $915K signing bonus and $250K roster bonus with his $1MM base salary in 2017 on his new deal, Ben Goessling of ESPN.com tweets. Berger will carry numbers of $1.61M and $1.88M in each of the next two seasons (link). Berger’s deal includes $900K in NLTBE (not likely to be earned) incentives in 2017 and he could make up to $2.2MM next year.
  • Coach Sean Payton said the Saints waited to release running back C.J. Spiller because they were looking for a potential trade partner, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com tweets. New Orleans couldn’t wait any longer, however, after cornerback Delvin Breaux went down with an injury and the team needed a roster spot.
  • Kenny Hilliard is drawing interest from the Seahawks, Bengals, and Cardinals, a source tells Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Hilliard was cut loose by Houston earlier this month.
  • The Chiefs had former Norfolk St. linebacker Deon King in for a workout on Tuesday, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets.

Workout Notes: 9/13/16

September 13th, 2016 at 7:59pm CST by Ben Levine

The latest workouts from around the NFL.

  • The Bears worked out former New England defensive end Rufus Johnson today, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The former sixth-rounder has one career appearance under his belt. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter) adds three more players to the list of workouts: linebackers Deiontrez Mount and Jermauria Rasco and defensive end Jimmy Bean.
  • The Colts worked out running back Brandon Wegher this week, according to his reps at Enter Sports Management (on Twitter). The former Morningside standout made one appearance for the Panthers in 2015. The team also worked out former Seahawks running back Zac Brooks, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • Safety Elijah Shumate worked out for the Raiders this week, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The undrafted rookie out of Notre Dame spent time with the Buccaneers this summer.
  • The Patriots worked out four players today, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss (via Twitter): WR Anthony Dable, DE Ryan Russell, OL Ian Silberman, DE Davis Tull. Dable is an interesting inclusion, as the 27-year-old has spent much of his professional career playing in the German Football League.
  • The Lions worked out a trio of defensive backs, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter): safety Jimmy Wilson and cornerbacks Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Demetrius McCray. The three players each have extensive NFL experience, with 12 combined starts in 2015.
  • The Packers worked out running back Storm Johnson, tweets Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. The former seventh-rounder last played in the NFL in 2o14, when he played six games for the Jaguars.
  • The Buccaneers worked out a trio of players today, according to Caplan on Twitter: defensive tackle Kyle Love, defensive end Kroy Biermann and guard Josh LeRibeus. Biermann is the most veteran of the bunch, with the 31-year-old compiling 331 career tackles in eight NFL seasons.
  • Former Eagles offensive lineman Andrew Gardner worked out for the Seahawks today, tweets Caplan. The former sixth-rounder has started 11 NFL games since entering the league in 2009.
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