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Broncos Place OL Quinn Bailey On IR

August 1st, 2024 at 10:50am CST by Sam Robinson

AUGUST 1: Bailey is indeed out for the year. He was placed on injured reserve Thursday, per a team announcement. His attention will now turn to rehab ahead of free agency next March. Rookie O-lineman Oliver Jervis was signed in a corresponding move.

JULY 31: Cameron Fleming worked as the Broncos’ swing tackle over the past two seasons, but the team did not re-sign the veteran in 2024. This left Quinn Bailey as a player vying for that role; he entered camp continuing to battle for a backup role he has held for multiple seasons. But the sixth-year Bronco saw that pursuit come to a likely end Wednesday.

Sean Payton said it “looks like” Bailey sustained a fractured ankle during practice, via 9News’ Mike Klis, who adds the veteran backup’s right leg was immobilized with an air cast. Bailey, 28, re-signed with the Broncos — on a one-year, $1.1MM deal with no guarantees — in March.

The Arizona State alum is set to undergo surgery, Klis adds. Fleming, 31, remains a free agent. Bailey is one of the Broncos’ longest-tenured players. He is among only five — along with Garett Bolles, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick and Justin Strnad — left over from John Elway‘s GM tenure.

A former UDFA, Bailey started a game apiece over the past two seasons. The Broncos enjoyed good health along their offensive line last season but needed Fleming extensively in 2022. Bailey worked as a swing backup more that season, playing 132 offensive snaps. Many of those came at left guard, but the Broncos will be needing to look elsewhere on their roster for swing work.

Denver added Matt Peart on a one-year deal in March as well, and ex-Payton Saints charge Calvin Throckmorton also joined some of his former teammates in Denver. For interior depth, the team could turn to one of the losers of the center competition, which is primarily being waged between 2022 fifth-round pick Luke Wattenberg and 2023 seventh-rounder Alex Forsyth.

Patriots To Extend DT Davon Godchaux

July 31st, 2024 at 10:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Patriots’ extension binge continues. One of the two disgruntled defenders who had not been participating fully at practice, Davon Godchaux has agreed to terms on a second Pats extension.

Godchaux, who had previously signed a New England re-up in 2022, will now be tied to a two-year, $16.5MM deal, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports. Joining Matt Judon in recently angling for a new contract, Godchaux can earn up to $21MM on his third Patriots agreement. This contract ties the veteran defensive tackle to the team through the 2026 season.

[RELATED: Patriots Submit Offers To Matt Judon]

Although Godchaux did not participate in Patriots minicamp, he was not a full-on hold-in at training camp. The former Dolphins starter had participated in some drills since camp opened, creating a far less contentious contract situation compared to Judon’s. The latter has gone from practicing to holding in to missing a practice due to contract frustration. It will be worth wondering how yet another Patriots payment will affect Judon, a free agent after this season.

For those keeping track, the Patriots have now either re-signed or extended Christian Barmore ($21MM per year), Michael Onwenu ($19MM AAV), Kyle Dugger ($14.5MM), Rhamondre Stevenson ($9MM), Hunter Henry ($9MM) and Jabrill Peppers ($8.3MM). They also re-upped Kendrick Bourne in free agency, giving the veteran wide receiver a $6.5MM-per-year accord. This is a remarkable turn of events — not only due to the Pats’ Bill Belichick-era past but after a 4-13 season.

While Judon is coming off a season-ending injury sustained early in Belichick’s finale, Godchaux has been a durable component of strong defenses. He has not missed a game as a Patriot, operating as a steady nose tackle in three years since relocating from Miami. Known for his work against the run, Godchaux now has security going into his age-30 season. He made 56 tackles (two for loss) last season.

Godchaux’s presence suddenly became more important after new about Barmore’s blood clot issue surfacing. The former has operated more as a run stuffer, with the latter leading the 2023 Pats in sacks (8.5). Jerod Mayo referred to Godchaux as one of the team’s best players. Although Pro Football Focus was not high on Godchaux’s 2023 work, rating him 102nd among interior D-linemen, the Patriots disagree and will pay him once again. This follows Godchaux’s two-year, $20.8MM agreement that came to pass two Julys ago.

It will be interesting to see how the Judon impasse ends, but the Pats have displayed tremendous commitment to the core Belichick formed. They are betting Mayo’s leadership — and improved quarterback play — will result in a turnaround.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/31/24

July 31st, 2024 at 8:25pm CST by Ely Allen

Wednesday’s minor transactions to close out the month:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Snead is the latest veteran wideout to join the Dolphins receiving corps. He hasn’t really contributed much to the NFL since his 2020 campaign with the Ravens, but he’ll get another chance this summer in South Beach.

Carolina brings in Johnson just a day after watching veteran Rashaad Penny hang up his cleats. In order to make room for Johnson, the Panthers let good of Davis, the team’s recent signee from the UFL.

Butler was waived after a failed physical two days ago. After going unclaimed, he’ll get to stay in Vegas by taking a place on the reserve/PUP list.

Commanders Claim K Riley Patterson

July 31st, 2024 at 3:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Following their short-lived partnership with Brandon McManus, the Commanders are turning to another recent Jaguars kicker. Washington submitted a successful waiver claim for Riley Patterson on Wednesday, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets.

Patterson, who has enjoyed multiple stints with Jacksonville, will head to a Washington team that features kicker uncertainty after McManus’ release. Patterson has kicked in 39 career games; 15 of those came last season — with the Lions and Browns.

Entering Wednesday, Ramiz Ahmed resided as the only kicker on the Commanders’ 90-man roster. Ahmed has kicked in one career game — as a Packers Mason Crosby fill-in in 2022. Patterson, who turned 29 last week, landed with the Jags via reserve/futures contract but lost an early camp competition to sixth-round rookie Cam Little.

The Commanders released McManus after a lawsuit alleging sexual assault surfaced after the team signed him. The allegations stemmed from a flight during the 2023 Jaguars season. Washington had given the longtime Denver specialist a one-year, $3.6MM deal in March. Ahmed joined the team in June, shortly after the McManus cut. The inexperienced option now has competition.

Patterson has yo-yoed between Jacksonville and Detroit during his career, being both traded and waived. After seven games with the 2021 Lions, Patterson was the Jags’ 2022 kicker. The Jaguars claimed Patterson just before that season; he made 30 of 35 field goals during the regular season and kicked the game-winner that sealed a 27-point wild-card comeback over the Chargers. Last season, after the Jags traded Patterson back to the Lions, the Memphis alum made 88.2% of his tries but lost an ongoing practice competition to Michael Badgley. The Lions ended up going with Badgley and cutting Patterson in December, leading him to a short role filling in for Dustin Hopkins.

Joey Slye served as the Commanders’ kicker last season, but the ex-Ron Rivera Panthers charge made only 79.2% of his kicks. The team will see if Patterson or Ahmed can prove an adequate replacement.

The Commanders, who also signed Byron Pringle earlier today, released wideout Damiere Byrd and waived wideout Dax Milne. Byrd had played for Kliff Kingsbury in Arizona previously, while Milne has been in Washington since being drafted in the 2021 seventh round.

Commanders Re-Sign WR Byron Pringle

July 31st, 2024 at 9:38am CST by Sam Robinson

Despite the Commanders parting ways with Eric Bieniemy, one of the former OC’s Chiefs charges is still in the team’s plans. Byron Pringle agreed to terms to stay in Washington on Wednesday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets.

Pringle rejoined Bieniemy in Washington last season, after having spent 2022 with fellow ex-Chiefs staffer Ryan Poles in Chicago. The sixth-year veteran worked as a rotational backup with the Commanders and should be expected to play a similar role this season. The Commanders have announced the signing.

Although Pringle debuted in 2019, he is set to turn 31 in August. The Chiefs rostered the former UDFA from 2018-21, and the Kansas State product’s most memorable season came for Kansas City’s 2021 edition. Pringle caught 42 passes for 568 yards and five touchdowns that season, operating as an auxiliary weapon for the Chiefs’ final Tyreek Hill-fronted receiving corps. The sides separated after that season, but Pringle will have come continuity once again.

That season is the outlier for the 6-foot-1 target, as he has not eclipsed 200 receiving yards in any other year. After starting four games for the 2022 Bears, Pringle followed Bieniemy to Washington in what turned out to be a one-and-done season for the longtime Kansas City OC. Pringle caught 14 passes for 161 yards with Washington last season, starting one game for a team that deployed a locked-in top three at receiver. One of those pass catchers — Curtis Samuel — has since moved on.

The Commanders’ passing attack will still run through Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson, but Kliff Kingsbury‘s offense still features some tertiary-level wideouts that will not make Pringle a roster lock. The team drafted Luke McCaffrey in Round 3 and added Olamide Zaccheaus earlier this offseason. Former third-rounder Dyami Brown remains with the team, with Jamison Crowder and ex-Kingsbury Cardinals cog Damiere Byrd signing as well. With 16 practice squad spots available, the Commanders stand to have some options — Pringle now among them — for their WR insurance spots.

The Giants also recently worked out Pringle, but he will receive another bid to make the Commanders’ roster. Pringle did not spend any time on last year’s Washington practice squad, but given the moves the team has made this offseason, it probably should not be considered automatic he lands with the team’s initial 53.

Bears Sign WR D.J. Moore To Extension

July 30th, 2024 at 10:01pm CST by Ben Levine

D.J. Moore is sticking with the Bears long-term. The wideout has agreed to a four-year, $110MM extension with the organization, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal includes $82.6MM in guaranteed money.

Moore still has two years remaining on the extension he inked with the Panthers back in 2022, although his guaranteed money was about to dry up. Moore’s extension locks in a lot more guaranteed cash, and it also keeps the veteran tied to Chicago through the 2029 campaign.

Moore’s first season with the Bears couldn’t have gone much better. After the wide receiver was dealt from Carolina in the trade involving the top-overall pick, the three-time 1,000-yard receiver put together the most productive season of his career. Despite inconsistent play from Justin Fields (plus four starts of Tyson Bagent), Moore finished the year with career-highs in receptions (96), receiving yards (1,364), and total touchdowns (nine).

With top-overall pick Caleb Williams now under center, the Bears will continue to lean on Moore. Of course, that didn’t stop the organization from adding more talent around their franchise quarterback, with the team bringing in both Keenan Allen and ninth-overall pick Rome Odunze this offseason. Still, Moore is entrenched as the WR1, and Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times passes along that the organization was making sure Moore was satisfied with his contract even before they added Allen’s significant cap hit. ESPN’s Courtney Cronin adds that the front office wasn’t “necessarily going to go in order of who’s up next for contract,” and they decided to push Moore ahead of other extension-eligible players.

The Bears also managed to avoid the $30MM average annual value mark that was exceeded by the likes of Justin Jefferson, A.J. Brown, and Amon-Ra St. Brown this offseason. Moore’s $27.5MM AAV will only come in seventh at his position, although that chunk of guaranteed cash will only trail Jefferson and Brown. Moore himself noted that he was not overly interested in putting himself near the top of the heap in terms of AAV but was (wisely) more interested in guaranteed money.

“You’ve got to follow it,” Moore said of the dizzying heights the WR market has reached with respect to annual averages (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk). “They’ve all been breaking new heights, going to 35 (million per year), but I wasn’t really in that mindset to go to the top-top. I was just like, What’s a good number? Let’s go from there.”

“Security,” Moore added. “The guaranteed money was awesome. That was the main part I loved out of the whole thing.”

Despite Moore’s focus on the guaranteed cash, his deal does represent the richest contract in franchise history in terms of AAV, as Schefter notes. Montez Sweat and his $24.5MM previously held that honor. Moore was unable to crack Khalil Mack‘s $90MM in guaranteed money, although that was part of a six-year extension.

With Moore’s contract now added to the market, the likes of CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Aiyuk will only have more examples to cite in their pursuit of new contracts.

Bills Sign S Kareem Jackson

July 30th, 2024 at 9:42pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Bills have added further experience at the safety position. Kareem Jackson has signed a deal with Buffalo, per a team announcement.

Jackson began his career with the Texans, spending nine seasons with the organization. That was followed by a four-plus-year tenure in Denver, one during which he remained a full-time starter. Jackson, 36, formed an effective tandem with Justin Simmons for much of his time in the Mile High City.

Last season, however, things took an unwanted turn for Jackson. The former first-rounder was suspended for repeated instances of unnecessary roughness. That ban was reduced to two games on appeal, but in his first game back on the field Jackson committed another helmet-to-helmet hit and was suspended for four games. He was waived by the Broncos in December before being claimed by the Texans in a reunion with head coach (and former teammate) DeMeco Ryans.

Jackson played sparingly in his return to Houston, and to little surprise he had to wait until after the start of training camp to find a new deal. The Colts hosted him on a visit, but instead the Alabama product will spend the coming weeks in Buffalo trying to carve out a roster spot. The Bills released Jordan Poyer in one of many decisions to move on from veteran players this offseason, and fellow longtime starter Micah Hyde remains unsigned amidst an uncertain future.

The team added Mike Edwards in free agency while re-signing Taylor Rapp. Those two, along with special teamer Damar Hamlin and second-round rookie Cole Bishop, are set to compete for 53-man places and playing time. Hamlin was already thought to be on the roster bubble given the additions made this offseason, and Jackson now being in the fold could narrow his path to a roster spot.

Jackson has 203 regular season games to his name, but his age and discipline issues from last season will no doubt lower expectations for him in Buffalo. If he manages to impress over the coming weeks – and particularly if Hyde elects to officially hang up his cleats – though, he could survive roster cutdowns and continue his career with a third NFL team.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/30/24

July 30th, 2024 at 7:52pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Waived: WR Isaiah Wooden
  • Placed on reserve/retired list: OT Tyler Vrabel

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

  • Waived: LB Shayne Simon

Carolina Panthers

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: DE Levi Bell

Jacksonville Jaguars

Pittsburgh Steelers

Marquez Callaway will once again hit free agency after having bounced around the NFL last season. The wideout spent time with the Broncos, Raiders, Saints (second stint) during the 2023 campaign. He caught on with the Steelers via a reserve/futures contract in January but ultimately lasted only a few days into training camp.

The former UDFA had a breakout campaign as a sophomore in New Orleans, finishing the 2021 season with 46 catches for 698 yards and six touchdowns. He saw a reduced role in 2022 before hitting the free agency carousel in 2023.

Giants Sign OL Greg Van Roten

July 30th, 2024 at 6:10pm CST by Adam La Rose

6:10pm: Van Roten inked a one-year deal worth up to $3MM, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The veteran will earn the entirety of that total if he appears in at least 50 percent of his team’s offensive snaps.

10:15am: Greg Van Roten‘s recent Giants visit has produced a deal. The veteran lineman signed on Tuesday, as first reported by Art Stapleton of NorthJersey.com. Head coach Brian Daboll has since confirmed the move.

Van Roten met with the team last week, and his visit clearly went well. The 34-year-old will now compete for playing time at guard as the Giants continue to sort out a number of starting spots up front. Left tackle Andrew Thomas and center John Michael Schmitz are set to remain in their respective places in 2024, but both guard positions and the right tackle gig are yet to be determined.

Jon Runyan Jr. came to the Giants after his new team outbid the Jets in free agency. The former Packers starter is set to handle first-team duties, although Daboll said that with Van Roten now in the fold, Runyan could be used at left (rather than right) guard. Much will depend on the performance of free agent signing Jermaine Eluemunor and the health of Evan Neal with respect to the right side of the line being worked out, but Van Roten will now be in the mix. The latter is a veteran of 71 starts, including 17 last year with the Raiders.

To make room for Van Roten, the Giants waived cornerback Aaron Robinson. One of several recent third-round cornerback additions, Robinson made 11 appearances and four starts during his first two years in the league. He missed the 2023 campaign in its entirety while recovering from ACL and MCL tears. The 25-year-old joined Neal in beginning training camp on the reserve/PUP list, and today’s move suggests he has a long way to go in recovery. Daboll’s most recent comments on Robinson pointed in that direction, and it would thus come as a surprise if a team were to make a waiver claim.

The Giants entered Tuesday with roughly $11.5MM in cap space. Today’s moves will lower that figure to an extent, but Van Roten settled for a low-cost deal last offseason. Doing so again could pave the way to a starting gig in New York, a team in need of improvement at multiple positions up front in 2024. They will have a number of options to choose from once the unit is fully healthy.

Jets Sign TE/FB Anthony Firkser

July 30th, 2024 at 5:48pm CST by Ben Levine

The Jets have replaced one blocking specialist with another. The team announced that they’ve signed tight end Anthony Firkser. In a corresponding move, the Jets released fullback Nick Bawden.

Firkser has served in a variety of roles during his NFL career, most commonly as a tight end or fullback. He was once relatively productive in the receiving game, including a 2020 campaign where he hauled in 39 catches for 387 yards. He was also called upon as a run blocker, especially while he was in Tennessee. During the 2021 season, Firkser got into a career-high 109 run-blocking snaps for the Titans.

Since leaving Tennessee, Firkser hasn’t seen a consistent role at any of his stops. He got into 11 games for the Falcons in 2022, finishing with nine catches while getting into 47 blocking snaps. After spending the 2023 preseason in New England, the veteran spent much of the regular season on Detroit’s practice squad.

This Jets signing will be a bit of a homecoming for Firkser. The Harvard product got his first NFL opportunity with the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He’ll be taking the roster spot previously held by Bawden, who was just activated from the PUP yesterday. Bawden spent the past three years in New York, including a 2023 campaign where he got into a career-high 16 games. The former seventh-round pick saw time on more than 90 blocking snaps for the Jets in 2023 while also seeing a significant role on special teams.

Firkser could easily slide right into that role, but the team also has some young options for their now-open fullback gig. 2022 third-round pick Jeremy Ruckert has excelled as a run blocker, while UDFA Lincoln Sefcik has reportedly been working as an H-back during the first few practices.

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