Will Clarke

Buccaneers Re-Sign DE Will Clarke

The Buccaneers have re-signed defensive end Will Clarke, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). It’s a minimum benefit salary pact, and Clarke will receive a $700K base salary and a signing bonus of $90K.

The Bengals selected Clarke in the third round of the 2014 draft, but he never lived up to that billing. Cincinnati waived Clarke after he failed to start a game with the club, and the Buccaneers picked him up prior to the 2017 campaign.

Clarke, 26, didn’t make much on an impact in Tampa Bay, either. While he played on roughly a third of the Bucs’ defensive snaps, Clarke posted only 2.5 sacks and graded as the No. 84 edge defender among 106 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. Clarke also chipped in on special teams, where he saw nearly 50% playtime.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/5/17

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bengals Reach 53-Man Limit

The Bengals officially made 30 moves on Saturday in order to reach the 53-man max. The full rundown is below.

Waived:

Released:

Reserve/Suspended:

The team also freed up a roster spot on Saturday by trading cornerback Bene Benwikere to Dallas for a conditional sixth-round draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Extra Points: Favre, Lynch, Raiders

Brett Favre is 45 years old and has been out of the NFL since retiring in 2011, but he told Sports Illustrated’s Greg Bishop he’s still capable of playing.

“I could make all the throws I made before, I just couldn’t throw it near as far, but that never matters anyway,” said Favre.

Despite the confidence he has in his abilities, Favre stated that he’s “not trying to start some he’s-coming-out-of-retirement deal.” 

The former Falcon, Packer, Jet and Viking last played in 2010, when he appeared in 13 games and threw 11 touchdowns against 19 interceptions for Minnesota. The Rams tried to coax Favre out of retirement in 2013, ESPN reported, but the 11-time Pro Bowler declined their offer.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • In an interview with Ashley Fox of ESPN.com, NFL executive Troy Vincent criticized the NFL Players Association’s recent propensity to drag appeals of league punishments through the court system. Pointing to the drawn-out cases of players like Adrian Peterson and Tom Brady, Vincent said, “Look at the amount of money being spent on legal fees for a handful of people. It’s millions and millions of dollars, and we’ve got players that are hurting. We’ve got young men who don’t know how to identify a good financial adviser. Men are in transition who aren’t doing well, and yet $8-10MM a year is spent in court fees about who should make a decision on someone, who in some cases has committed a crime.”
  • Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch confirmed to Conan O’Brien on Monday night that he was contemplating retirement before the team gave him a new deal earlier this year, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “I mean, you know, in this game, you know, at this running back position, you don’t go that long,” Lynch said. “But, I mean, they put 12 (million dollars) in front of you for a year you start to think like ‘Yeah, maybe I can do this again.'”
  • Second-year Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is impressed with his two newest targets, rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper and veteran Michael Crabtree. Regarding Cooper: “He is ridiculous in and out of his breaks,” Carr told 95.7-FM in San Francisco on Tuesday, according to Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. “His style of play is perfect for this league.” On Crabtree, Carr said, “He is a football junkie. He’s been a nice guy, a nice addition to our team.”
  • Michael Johnson returned to the Bengals this offseason and will team with Geno Atkins to create an intimidating force along Cincinnati’s defensive line. While that reunion has fans in the Queen City excited, Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com says the team’s coaching staff is also singing the praises of the man they expect to spell Johnson from time to time, particularly on running downs: Will Clarke. Clarke was on the field for just 64 snaps in last season, his rookie year, but he put on good weight this offseason and is clearly more comfortable in the Bengals’ scheme. He is expected to be an important part of the D-line rotation.

Rory Parks contributed to this post.

AFC North Notes: Clarke, Bengals, Steelers

There should be a number of interesting divisional races in the NFL this season, but according to sports betting site Bovada.lv, none are currently as up in the air as the AFC North. It’s the only division in the league without a single favorites, as both the Bengals and Steelers are given equal 2/1 odds at coming out on top, while the Ravens are right behind. Even the Browns, at 5/1, aren’t viewed as as much of a long shot as most other “fourth-place” clubs around the league.

As we look forward to seeing how the AFC North plays out in 2014, let’s check in on a few of the latest updates out of the division…

  • In addition to confirming the signing of second-round running back Jeremy Hill, news which Hill himself broke yesterday, the Bengals also announced that they’ve signed third-round defensive end Will Clarke (Twitter link). Per Jason Fitzgerald’s figures at OverTheCap.com, the West Virginia defender will be in line for a signing bonus worth about $545K with a four-year base value near $2.8MM.
  • While a number of teams handed out modest signing bonuses to most or all of their undrafted free agent signings, the Bengals weren’t one of those clubs. According to Coley Harvey of ESPN.com, only four of Cincinnati’s 11 UDFA additions receiving signing bonuses, worth just $26K in total. We’ve added the new figures, including an $8K bonus for wideout Colin Lockett, to our own story on the Bengals’ post-draft signings.
  • As Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes in his preview of the Steelers‘ OTAs, one of the questions facing Pittsburgh is whether any additional roster moves are on the way when the team frees up $8.5MM in cap space next week due to the release of LaMarr Woodley. Robinson also examines the receiving corps and the roles that rookies like Dri Archer and Ryan Shazier will play, among other topics.