HEADLINES

Transactions News & Rumors

Bears To Release TE Trey Burton

April 17th, 2020 at 4:23pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears are cutting Trey Burton, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). With that, Burton will hit free agency and try to hook on with another team. 

The 28-year-old (29 in October) joined the Bears on a four-year, $32MM deal in 2018. However, thanks to the structure and cash flow of the deal, it was more like a two-year pact. Ultimately, that’s how the Bears treated it. Burton will be designated as a post-June 1 cut saving the Bears roughly $2.8MM in cap space (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Adam Jahns). There’s also offset language in his deal. If another teams signs Burton, the Bears will owe him less than his $4MM guaranteed sum.

Burton spent the majority of his career as a backup for Eagles, sitting behind star Zach Ertz. Over his last two Philly seasons, Burton averaged 30 receptions, 288 yards, and three touchdowns per campaign. Those weren’t eye-popping totals, but the advanced stats showed that he was extremely efficient. In his final season with the Birds, Football Outsiders ranked Burton No. 3 in DVOA among TEs, demonstrating his per-play value.

In Chicago, Burton didn’t break out the way the Bears and many fantasy owners hoped. Burton had 54 catches for 569 yards and six touchdowns in 2018. Last year, a calf injury shut him down in November. He finished out his season with 14 receptions for 84 yards and zero touchdowns.

With Burton gone, the Bears figure to be on the hunt for tight ends in the draft.

Bears To Sign OT Jason Spriggs

April 17th, 2020 at 3:56pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears have agreed to sign offensive tackle Jason Spriggs, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The former second-round pick of the Packers will ink a one-year deal with his new NFC North squad.

[RELATED: Bears’ Robertson-Harris Signs Tender]

Back in 2016, the Packers saw Spriggs as a future starter, so they traded up to land the Indiana product at No. 48 overall. At the pro level, he wasn’t able to stick as a first-stringer. For his three seasons in Green Bay, Spriggs was mostly a part-timer for his 29 games. In between that, in 2017, he was placed on injured reserve twice.

Spriggs’ deal likely doesn’t contain much, or anything, in the way of guaranteed dollars, but he’ll get a shot to crack the team’s 53-man roster. Meanwhile, the Bears are keeping most of their focus on the draft for the next week. With their original No. 19 pick belonging to the Raiders, their first selection won’t come until the second round at No. 43.

Raiders QB Nathan Peterman Signs Tender

April 16th, 2020 at 7:32pm CST by Zachary Links

Raiders quarterback Nathan Peterman has signed his restricted free agency tender, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Ditto for offensive tackle David Sharpe. Both players will return to Las Vegas on one-year, $2.133MM deals. 

[RELATED: Raiders’ Morrow Signs RFA Tender]

Peterman, 26 in May, was a fifth-round pick of the Bills back in 2017. The Bills cut him midway through his second pro year. Pro Football Reference’s “indexed” statistics, which account and adjust for different eras of the game, rated Peterman dead last among all QBs since 1970 in passer rating, yards per attempt, interception percentage, and numerous other passing statistics.

Still, several teams took an interest in him when he hit the open market. The Raiders signed him towards the end of ’18 and he rewarded their confidence with a surprisingly strong preseason in ’19. Peterman connected on 60 of his 84 passes for 475 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. But, just before the start of the year, he landed on IR.

Earlier this week, fellow Raiders RFA Nicholas Morrow also inked his tender. Tendered at the second-round level, he’ll see a bump from $645K to $3.26MM.

49ers’ Matt Breida Signs Tender

April 16th, 2020 at 7:00pm CST by Zachary Links

49ers running back Matt Breida has signed his tender, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Per the terms of the second-round level cuff, Breida will earn $3.1MM in 2020. 

[RELATED: 49ers Re-Sign Verrett, Johnson]

The Niners reportedly used the second-round tender on Breida because they sensed that at least one other team was fixing to poach him at the original-round level. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s in the team’s plans for 2020 – reportedly, the Niners tendered him with the thought that he could be traded at a later date.

With Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman in the fold, Breida isn’t on track for a major role in the 49ers’ backfield. Jerick McKinnon is also in the mix – many thought that the Niners would cut Jet this offseason, but he’s on the books at a cheaper rate following his mid-March haircut.

At times, Breida impressed – he’s averaged at least 5.1 yards per tote in each of the last two seasons. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to stay healthy. Over the course of three seasons, the Georgia Southern product has totaled just 381 carries.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/16/20

April 16th, 2020 at 5:20pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Chicago Bears

New England Patriots

  • Signed RFA tender: OL Jermaine Eluemunor

New Orleans Saints

Pittsburgh Steelers

Broncos’ Mike Purcell, Elijah Wilkinson Sign RFA Tenders

April 16th, 2020 at 10:52am CST by Dallas Robinson

Broncos defensive tackle Mike Purcell and guard Elijah Wilkinson have both signed their second-round restricted free agent tenders, according to Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link). They’ll each earn $3.259MM for the 2020 campaign.

While Purcell isn’t much of a pass-rusher, he’s excellent as stopping the run. In fact, Pro Football Focus ranked 6’3″, 330-pounder as the league’s best run-defending interior player in 2019. Purcell, who turns 29 years old later this week, played in 13 games (seven starts) for the Broncos last season while posting 48 tackles (eight for loss).

Purcell, an undrafted free agent in 2013, bounced around the league before finding a landing spot in Denver. The Wyoming product spent time with six other NFL teams and the Salt Lake Stallions of the AAF before signing with the Broncos last April.

An undrafted free agent like Purcell, Wilkinson joined the Broncos out of UMass in 2017. Promoted to the starting lineup last season, the 25-year-old played on nearly 90% of Denver’s offensive snaps.

The Broncos have since added free agent Graham Glasgow on a multi-year deal, so it’s unclear if Wilkinson will still have a starting job in 2019. Glasgow can play center as well as guard, leaving Denver with multiple possible combinations up front.

Roy Robertson-Harris Signs Bears Tender

April 15th, 2020 at 2:48pm CST by Zachary Links

Bears defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris signed his second-round tender, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). With that, he’ll return for another season in Chicago while earning just over $3.2MM. 

Robertson-Harris was set for restricted free agency, but the Bears didn’t want to let him get away. The $3.2MM+ tender was enough to scare off any possible suitors – any team that signed him to an unmatched offer sheet would have had to pay a steep tax in draft capital. Since he entered the league as an undrafted free agent, there would’ve been no compensation for the Bears had they tendered and lost him at the original-round level.

The UTEP product spent his entire 2016 rookie season on the reserve/NFI list, but earned his spot on the team in 2017. Ever since, he’s been getting more and more time on the field. Last year, he appeared in 15 games and started seven, racking up 30 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and three passes defended from the interior. All together, he played on more than 50 percent of Chicago’s defensive snaps.

Seahawks Rescind Malik Turner’s Tender

April 14th, 2020 at 5:10pm CST by Zachary Links

The Seahawks have pulled their exclusive rights tender for Malik Turner, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). With that, Turner has gone from the ERFA property of the Seahawks to a full-fledged free agent.

It’s rare for an ERFA to have his tender pulled, especially since those deals are inexpensive with no real guarantees, but the Seahawks apparently had second thoughts. Turner, 24, appeared in 15 games for Seattle last year. He managed 15 receptions for 245 yards and a touchdown in his second season with the club.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks re-upped a pair of their own free agents this week. Guard Mike Iupati, entering his age-33 season, will return on a one-year deal. Ditto for cornerback Neiko Thorpe, who is also looking to stay healthy after finishing the 2019 season on IR.

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