HEADLINES

Trystan Colon-Castillo

AFC North Notes: Bengals, JuJu, Ravens

October 13th, 2020 at 5:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bengals may be beginning the process of moving away from their all-time sack leader. For the first time since the 2012 season, Carlos Dunlap did not start. Cincinnati used younger defensive ends Sam Hubbard and Carl Lawson as its first-stringers in Baltimore, playing Dunlap on a season-low 46% of the defensive snaps. Dunlap, who signed an extension to stay in Cincinnati in 2018, said the Bengals did not inform him directly about a demotion ahead of the game but merely listed his new non-starter status on an updated depth chart.

“That’s crazy, right? I mean, you would think common decency would be something like that,” Dunlap said (via ESPN.com’s Ben Baby) of the coaching staff not discussing his new role beforehand. “I mean, it’s not like I’m injured or anything. I’m not nursing anything. I’ve been blessed. Eleven years in the game. But I understand business, and evidently, this is the business they want to do.”

Dunlap now looms as a 2021 cap casualty. The Bengals would save $11.25MM by cutting him next year, and Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic (subscription required) expects a release to commence. He could be a trade chip this year, with the rebuilding Bengals sitting last in a stacked division. Dunlap, 31, is due more than $5MM in remaining 2020 base salary. Dunlap’s 82.5 sacks are seven more than anyone else has accumulated in Bengals history, but Pro Football Focus rates both Lawson and Hubbard above him through five games.

Here is the latest from the AFC North:

  • Dunlap will not be the only longtime Bengal out of the picture next year. The team spending $18MM-plus to tag A.J. Green has not worked out, and John Ross has been a healthy scratch the past three weeks. Perennial Pro Bowl defensive tackle Geno Atkins made his season debut last week, but Dehner notes in the same piece the $9.6MM the team could save by moving on him puts that on the table. Atkins’ 75.5 sacks are second in Bengals history, holding that spot by more than 25 sacks. A fellow 11th-year vet, Atkins signed an extension along with Dunlap in 2018. Two years remain on his deal, whereas 2021 would be a Dunlap contract year.
  • On the subject of big-picture separations, the Steelers will have a decision to make fairly soon. They appear to have unearthed their latest Day 2 wide receiver success story, with Chase Claypool dominating the Eagles in a four-touchdown performance. With Claypool signed through 2023 and both Diontae Johnson and James Washington signed beyond this season, JuJu Smith-Schuster‘s future with the team could be cloudy. The Steelers should be expected to let the former Pro Bowler walk in free agency, per Ed Bouchette of The Athletic. Art Rooney II was vague on this subject this offseason. Ahead of the curve at identifying receiver talent, the Steelers have only signed Hines Ward and Antonio Brown to notable extensions in the Ben Roethlisberger era. Smith-Schuster is averaging just 9.0 yards per catch this season (21/188). That said, his 1,400-yard 2018 season would make the 23-year-old slot receiver a hot commodity on the 2021 market.
  • Although injured reserve stays only require three-week absences this season, the Bengals are not planning on having one of their starting O-linemen back soon. Guard Xavier Su’a-Filo is not expected to return until after Cincinnati’s Week 9 bye. Zac Taylor said the veteran blocker may be out beyond that point, per Dehner (on Twitter). The Bengals signed Su’a-Filo this offseason and used him as a Week 1 starter but placed him on IR because of an injured ankle soon after.
  • Prior to the Ravens promoting center Trystan Colon-Castillo, multiple teams expressed interest in poaching him from Baltimore’s practice squad, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic tweets. The Ravens signed the University of Missouri product as a UDFA this year; they made him a game-day inactive in Week 5.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/12/20

October 12th, 2020 at 4:54pm CST by Ben Levine

Here are today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Ravens Cut Roster To 53

September 5th, 2020 at 3:46pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Ravens became the latest team to get down to 53, cutting a slew of players on Saturday via a team announcement. With the moves, Baltimore ended a 16-year streak of keeping at least one undrafted rookie on the roster, another sign of the impact COVID-19 and the reduced offseason had on roster decisions.

Here are the 23 guys who were let go:

Barner played a somewhat prominent role on a couple of Eagles teams and won Super Bowl LII with the team. Since leaving Philly he’s bounced between New England, Carolina, and Atlanta. Ehinger started a game at guard for Baltimore last year, but couldn’t crack the roster this time around.

Richards was a full-time starter with the Falcons in 2018, and appeared in nine games with Baltimore last year, scoring a touchdown on a fumble recovery. Townsend was the Raiders’ punter in 2018, and just signed with the Ravens a couple of weeks ago. He probably never had too good a chance of beating out Sam Koch, who has been with the Ravens since 2006. Huntley had a very solid college career at Utah, but wasn’t viewed by too many as a legitimate pro passer.

Draft Notes: Tua, Okwuegbunam, Reagor

December 3rd, 2019 at 9:31pm CST by Ben Levine

As Tua Tagovailoa continues to rehab from a hip injury, the quarterback is uncertain whether he’ll enter the NFL Draft or stay at Alabama for another season. In a conversation with Cecil Hurt of TideSports.com (and passed along by Ian Rapoport of NFL.com on Twitter), Tagovailoa said he’ll continue to discuss his future with his parents in anticipation of the January 20th deadline to declare for the draft.

“There is a risk and a reward if I stay and a risk and a reward if I go,” Tagovailoa said. “The risk if I stay is obviously ‘Do I get hurt again?’ The reward is that I could come back and have another good year like my sophomore year and elevate myself back to the very top of the (NFL) draft.

“If I leave, I think the risk is a little higher. That risk would be how far do I drop in the draft. To me, it’s 50-50 between going in the first round and possibly going in the second round. If I go somewhere from first (overall) to around 24th, the money will be set. But let’s say — and I am just picking a number — that I go to the 31st pick. That would be about 9 million dollars. That’s a lot of money, an amount of money I’ve never had before, but it’s not high first-round money and you can never make that money up. They say you can (make it up) on your next contract but money lost is money lost to me.

“Those are the deciding factors. If my parents tell me that they think I should leave, that is obviously going to be a factor. But so far, they’ve told me that it’s my decision.”

The quarterback doesn’t have a timetable for his return from injury. Even with the ailment, we recently heard that Tagovailoa would still be a first-round pick in the 2020 draft.

Let’s check out some more draft notes:

  • TCU wideout Jalen Reagor announced on Twitter that he’s entering the 2020 draft. Following a 1,000-yard campaign in 2018, Reagor finished 2019 with 43 catches for 611 yards and five touchdowns. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound receiver is listed as the sixth-best player at his position by CBS Sports.
  • Maryland RB Anthony McFarland Jr. has declared for the 2020 draft. The former redshirt sophomore still had two years of eligibility. McFarland finished his season having compiled 614 rushing yards and eight scores on 114 carries. He added another 17 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown.
  • Missouri will be losing a trio of contributors, as defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, tight end Albert Okwuegbunam, and offensive lineman Trystan Colon-Castillo all declared for the 2020 draft. Okwuegbunam is easily Missouri’s top-rated prospect, with the tight end ranking third at his position, per CBS Sports.
  • Oregon State receiver Isaiah Hodgins will enter the NFL Draft, the player announced on social media (via Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com). The son of former NFL player James Hodgins, the Beavers wideout finished this past season with 86 receptions for 1,171 yards and 13 touchdowns. Considering the receiver depth in the upcoming draft, Hodgins will be hard pressed to be an early-round pick.
  • Colorado wideout Laviska Shenault Jr. is entering the draft, the team announced on Twitter. “Laviska Shenault represented our relentless culture and was one of the most dynamic, dominant and versatile players that I have ever coached,” said head coach Mel Tucker. Shenault had 1,775 yards and 10 touchdowns between the 2018 and 2019 seasons.