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Kyle Wilber

NFC North Coaching Updates: Lions, Packers, Vikings

March 29th, 2023 at 9:28pm CST by Ely Allen

The Lions announced earlier this month that they have finalized their coaching staff for the 2023 season. Much of the staff remains identical to last year’s coaches who helped the Lions to some surprising success. Many of the minor changes that did occur, such as promotions and the additions of assistants, have already been covered on this site. There were a couple that still need to be announced.

On the offensive side, the Lions hired Jim Hostler as a senior offensive assistant. Hostler has served in Washington for the last three years and has an extensive history as a position coach in the NFL for several franchises, including a stint as offensive coordinator for the 49ers back in 2007. Hostler’s most recent experience was assisting with wide receivers for the Commanders, but there didn’t appear to be a place for him on Eric Bieniemy‘s new staff in Washington.

On the defensive side of the ball, Detroit has hired John Scott Jr. to take over as defensive line coach. With Todd Wash departing to rejoin Frank Reich in Carolina, the Lions went to the college ranks for their next defensive line coach. Scott will return to the NFL for the first time since serving as the assistant defensive line coach for the Jets in 2016. Since then, Scott has coached the defensive lines at Arkansas, South Carolina, and Penn State, adding the title of run game coordinator for the Nittany Lions in 2022.

Here are a few more coaching updates from around the NFC North:

  • The Packers made a couple additions to their coaching staff near the start of the month. Similar to Detroit, Green Bay also pulled from the college ranks, hiring recently dismissed Western Michigan head coach Tim Lester to a senior analyst position, according to Matthew Ehler of MLive.com. Lester has worked plenty with college quarterbacks but will be making his NFL debut in 2023. The team also hired two new quality control coaches, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. Rob Grosso joins as offensive quality control and Kyle Wilber will be special teams quality control. Grosso, a former defensive assistant who followed Vance Joseph from Denver to Arizona, was expected to once again follow Joesph back to Denver but will part ways with Joseph while switching from defense to offense. Wilber, a former NFL linebacker, recently finished a 10-year career in which he played for Packers assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia at both Dallas and Las Vegas.
  • The Vikings joined the Lions and Packers in dipping into the college ranks of coaching, hiring Michael Hutchings as assistant linebackers coach, according to Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports. Hutchings most recently served as outside linebackers coach at Western Kentucky and previously worked at USC and Oregon.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/29/21

December 29th, 2021 at 5:56pm CST by Adam La Rose

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Designated for return: OG Xavier Su’a-Filo

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Contract Details: Anderson, Pennel, Alexander

March 27th, 2020 at 8:56pm CST by Ben Levine

A handful of contract details to pass along:

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/25/20

March 25th, 2020 at 9:17pm CST by Rory Parks

Here are today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

 

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/2/19

September 2nd, 2019 at 3:56pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Signed: G John Jerry
  • Placed on IR: G O’Shea Dugas

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

  • Waived: S Rolan Milligan

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Raiders Get Down To 53 Players

August 31st, 2019 at 7:04pm CST by Zachary Links

The Raiders have made their slew of cuts. They placed defensive tackle Justin Ellis on injured reserve, meaning he’ll miss the entire season. After starting 14 games in 2017, Oakland signed Ellis to a three-year, $15MM extension. Injuries limited him to just six games last season, so he’ll have barely played through the first two years of that extension.

Former Rams defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks also got the boot. He started nine games for Los Angeles in 2017 and racked up four sacks. Last year he had a smaller role, although he did appear in all 16 games for the Rams. ‘Hard Knocks’ star Keelan Doss unfortunately failed to make the roster. He’s an undrafted rookie receiver from UC Davis. Additionally Keith Smith, who served as the team’s fullback last season, was released.

Waived:

WR Marcell Ateman
DE Quinton Bell
RB James Butler
LB Jason Cabinda
LB Te’von Coney
G Lester Cotton Sr.
WR Keelan Doss
LB Koa Farmer
WR Rico Gafford
WR Keon Hatcher
G/T Denver Kirkland
CB Dylan Mabin
T Justin Murray
CB Nick Nelson
WR De’Mornay Pierson-El
T Tyler Roemer
DT Anthony Rush

Released:

FB Keith Smith
DE Ethan Westbrooks
LB Kyle Wilber

Waived/injured:

TE Paul Butler

Placed on season-ending injured reserve:

DT Justin Ellis

Raiders To Retain Jordy Nelson For 2019

December 28th, 2018 at 3:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jordy Nelson appears to have a second Raiders season on tap. The longtime Packers wide receiver signed a two-year deal with the Raiders, but some speculation existed about the rebuilding team moving on after one season.

Jon Gruden confirmed Friday that Nelson will return next season. The Raiders also moved up a $3.6MM Nelson roster bonus to be paid today rather than in 2019, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

“If you watched Jordy play carefully the last four weeks when he’s been healthy, you see what he’s capable of doing, … I think you can even see better and better days ahead,” Gruden said, via Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter links). “So yeah, he’ll be back. … Normally when you hand out a bonus for next year’s season, there’s a pretty good chance those guys are coming back.”

That puts Tahir Whitehead, tight end Lee Smith and linebacker Kyle Wilber in line to be Raiders in their to-be-determined city next season. The Raiders paid Whitehead his $3.325MM bonus, with Smith collecting $1.1MM and Wilber $500K, Yates adds. These moves will spread out said bonuses’ cap hits across 2018 and ’19.

Nelson will be 34 when next season starts. He said earlier this week (via Bair, on Twitter) he wanted to play at least one more season. Jared Cook leads the Raiders in receiving, but Nelson has, to some degree, bounced back from a dismal 2017 with 661 receiving yards on one of the NFL’s worst offenses, bumping his yards-per-catch average from a career-low 9.1 (in the largely Aaron Rodgers-less ’17 Packers slate) to 12.2 with Derek Carr. While the latter figure is still below his prime work, Nelson is one of the NFL’s oldest wideouts.

Contract Details: Jordy, Glennon, Incognito

March 21st, 2018 at 8:11pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Let’s take a look at the most recent new contracts and restructures around the NFL:

New Contracts

  • Jordy Nelson, WR (Raiders): Two years, $14.2MM. $13MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com).
  • Mike Glennon, QB (Cardinals): Two-year, $8MM deal contains void years in 2020 and 2021. $4MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com).
  • Spencer Long, C (Jets): Four years, $27.5MM. $6MM guaranteed (link via Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap).
  • Jaron Brown, WR (Seahawks): Two years, $5.5MM. $2.75MM guaranteed. $1.95MM signing bonus. $750K available annually via receptions, yards, and touchdowns incentives (Twitter link via Brady Henderson of ESPN.com).
  • Christian Jones, LB (Lions): Two years, $6.35MM. $2.8MM guaranteed. $1.75MM signing bonus (Twitter link via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com).
  • Kyle Wilber, LB (Raiders): Two years, $2.75MM. $1.4MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of SiriusXM).
  • Billy Turner, OL (Broncos): One year, $2MM. $750K guaranteed. $500K signing bonus (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9News).

Restructures

  • Richie Incognito, G (Bills): 2018 base salary reduced from $6.325MM to $3.65MM. Earned $1MM bonus. Bills created $1.675MM in cap space (Twitter link via Yates).
  • John Jerry, G (Giants): 2019 contract season eliminated. 2018 base salary reduced from $3.05MM to $1.075MM, $525K of which is guaranteed. $400K roster bonus added and paid on 3/21. Per-game roster bonuses increased from $250K to $500K (all Twitter links via Dan Duggan of NJ.com). Giants created $525K in cap space.

Raiders Sign LB Kyle Wilber

March 17th, 2018 at 12:43pm CST by Ben Levine

Kyle Wilber has found a new home. The Raiders announced that they have signed the free agent linebacker.

The 2012 fourth-round pick had spent his entire six-year career with the Cowboys, and he’s missed only a single regular season game over the past two seasons. The 28-year-old finished last season with 10 tackles and one forced fumble in 16 games. His best season came back in 2013, when he had 44 tackles and a pair of sacks.

Wilber will have plenty of competition for playing time, as the Raiders seemingly have their starters in Bruce Irvin, Marquel Lee, and Tahir Whitehead. Wilber will compete with Cory James, Nicholas Morrow, Shilique Calhoun, and Brady Sheldon for playing time. Wilber will probably most contribute on special teams.

NFC Contract Details: Ayers, Shelby, Perry

March 14th, 2016 at 4:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are a few of the latest contract details from around the NFC on recently agreed-upon and signed deals. All links are courtesy of Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle unless otherwise indicated…

NFC South:

  • Robert Ayers, DE (Buccaneers): Three years, $19.5MM. $10.5MM guaranteed. $2.5MM roster bonus due on March 16. $2MM roster bonus due on fifth day of 2017 league year. $1MM roster bonus due on fifth day of 2018 league year. $550K annually in sacks incentives (Twitter links).
  • Derrick Shelby, DE (Falcons): Four years, $18MM. $7.5MM guaranteed. $5MM signing bonus. Annual $1MM base escalator from 2017 to 2019 (Twitter links).
  • Matt Schaub, QB (Falcons): One year, $1.75MM. $500K signing bonus. Up to $1MM in playing-time and 53-man roster incentives (Twitter link).

NFC East:

  • Tress Way, P (Washington): Five years, $7.8MM. $2.35MM guaranteed. $1.25MM signing bonus. Up to $400K in annual escalators from 2017 to 2020 (Twitter link via Master Tesfatsion of the Washington Post).
  • Nigel Bradham, LB (Eagles): Two years, $7MM. $4.5MM guaranteed. $1.5MM signing bonus. $500K base escalator for 2017 (Twitter link).
  • Kyle WIlber, LB (Cowboys): Two years, $3.25MM. $1MM signing bonus. $1MM playing-time incentive (Twitter link).
  • Logan Paulsen, TE (Washington): One year, minimum salary benefit. $35K signing bonus. $45K bonus for being on 53-man roster for first game (Twitter link).

NFC North:

  • Nick Perry, OLB (Packers): One year, $5MM. $1.5MM signing bonus. $2.3MM base salary. Up to $1MM in per-game active roster bonuses. $200K workout bonus. Up to $250K in incentives (Twitter links via Wilson and Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com).
  • Marcus Sherels, CB (Vikings): Two years, $4MM. $1.5MM guaranteed. $500K roster bonus due on March 16. $100K in annual punt return average incentives. $50K annual Pro Bowl incentive (Twitter links).
  • Rafael Bush, S (Lions): One year, $2.4MM. $250K signing bonus. $250K in per-game roster bonuses. Up to $900K in playing-time bonuses (Twitter link via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press).
  • Don Muhlbach, LS (Lions): One year, minimum salary benefit. $80K signing bonus (Twitter link).

NFC West:

  • Jermaine Gresham, TE (Cardinals): One year, $3.5MM. $3MM guaranteed. $500K in per-game active roster bonuses. $500K in incentives for stats, playing time (Twitter link).
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