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Chiefs Sign RB Samaje Perine

September 4th, 2024 at 8:09am CST by Sam Robinson

SEPTEMBER 4: Perine signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Chiefs, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Kansas City guaranteed the veteran RB $290K, but if Perine is on this weekend’s Chiefs roster, his $1.5MM locks in as a vested veteran.

AUGUST 28: Facing some questions behind starter Isiah Pacheco, the Chiefs will add a player one of their division rivals just discarded. Samaje Perine is heading to Kansas City.

The veteran running back, whom the Broncos released after failing to complete a trade, is joining the Chiefs’ active roster, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport report. Perine will join Clyde Edwards-Helaire and rookie UDFA Carson Steele on Kansas City’s roster.

This will give Patrick Mahomes an interesting option. The Chiefs drafted Edwards-Helaire to be a dynamic weapon, with the 5-foot-7 back showing plus receiving skills at LSU. The former first-round pick failed to live up to his draft slot, running into inconsistency issues during an injury-marred rookie-contract period. Kansas City did re-sign Edwards-Helaire, but Pacheco — a former seventh-round pick — has distanced himself as the clear RB1.

Perine, 29 next month, will effectively replace Jerick McKinnon. The Chiefs had reached three one-year contracts with McKinnon, who rebounded from two full-season absences to become a reliable contributor — particularly through the air — in Kansas City. The 10-year veteran is now 32, and the Chiefs are going a bit younger by nabbing Perine.

Delivering his best passing-game work in Denver, Perine totaled 455 receiving yards on 50 catches last season. He played a key role in the Broncos’ five-game midseason win streak, which included an upset over the Chiefs, but Denver did not find room on its roster this year. The Broncos had given Perine a two-year contract, but they then drafted Audric Estime in Round 5. The Notre Dame alum joined starter Javonte Williams and UDFAs Jaleel McLaughlin and Blake Watson on the Broncos’ 53-man roster.

It is worth wondering the Bengals pursued a reunion; they added Zack Moss in free agency and have 2023 Joe Mixon backup Chase Brown set for a big role. Perine backed up Mixon and chose a Broncos 2023 offer over a Bengals proposal. He will now attempt to help the Chiefs pull off the first threepeat in the Super Bowl era. This move also comes months after the Chiefs cut Samaje’s cousin, La’Mical Perine.

49ers, Trent Williams Agree To Rework

September 3rd, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

Not long after ending Brandon Aiyuk‘s hold-in with an extension, the 49ers have a resolution in place with Trent Williams. The All-Pro left tackle returned to San Francisco on Tuesday to finalize a new agreement, his agency announced.

A few minor details are still to be ironed out, as noted by Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, but once signed this new pact will finish the team’s last major piece of financial business for the offseason. Three years remained on Williams’ contract prior to today’s news, but no guaranteed compensation was in place. To no surprise, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that is now expected to change.

Indeed, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson adds Williams will receive $48MM at signing. Overall, this is a three-year, $82.66MM agreement, with the $48MM serving as a signing bonus. The 49ers will be able to spread that amount into the future, though this deal does not add any years to Williams’ deal, which still runs through 2026.

Among non-quarterbacks beyond age 35, the $48MM guarantee is an NFL-record sum. As a massive talent gap exists between Williams and the rest of San Francisco’s O-line cogs, the team certainly needed him back to open the season. Talks intensified Sunday night, per Fowler, and Williams will have a week of practices with his team to prepare for the 49ers’ opener against the Jets. Williams effectively maximized his leverage, with Wilson adding he will collect $27.65MM in 2024.

Williams was absent from the start of training camp, adding another layer to the financial challenges the 49ers dealt with over the summer. Trade talk persisted in Aiyuk’s case, with a trade agreement being worked out with the Steelers. That wound up being a moot point after the parties agreed to a four-year, $120MM contract which will keep Aiyuk in the Bay Area for the foreseeable future, though. The same will now be true for Williams, whose deal ran through 2026 before the adjustments which will be finalized today.

The 11-time Pro Bowler was due $20.9MM in 2024 under the terms of the previous contract, one which carried an AAV of just over $23MM. Williams’ efforts to land an upgraded pact had come during an offseason in which the top of the tackle market has reached new heights with Tristan Wirfs, Penei Sewell and Christian Darrisaw landing big-ticket extensions. Each of those agreements are for second contracts, though, making them notably different than Williams’ case.

The 36-year-old has previously been linked to retirement, although one year ago he made public his intention of playing until age 40. Williams has landed first-team All-Pro nod in each of the past three years, serving as the anchor of the 49ers’ offensive line during that span. That longevity helped give him leverage to angle for a new arrangement, but it will certainly be interesting to see if the 49ers have added any new years to the pact given Williams’ age.

In 2019, Williams sat out the entire campaign while attempting to land a new deal at the end of his tenure in Washington. That was eventually ended by the trade which sent him to San Francisco the following offseason (and, later, the six-year accord he had been playing on), but it illustrated how willing the Oklahoma product was to extend a holdout into the regular season. A chance of that tactic being repeated loomed throughout the summer, though a recent update pointed to the parties making progress on contract talks. Regardless of what the new deal looks like, today’s news means San Francisco’s offense will be at full strength in time for Week 1.

As a vested veteran, the daily fines Williams accumulated for his training camp holdout cannot be waived. Due to missed camp time ($2.05MM) and three missed preseason games ($3.34MM), Williams incurred $5.39MM in fines to secure this rework, CBS Sports’ Joel Corry tweets. With over $171MM in career earnings, that fact did not dissuade him, but the threat of a regular season absence is no longer in place.

Steelers, DT Cameron Heyward Agree To Extension

September 3rd, 2024 at 9:40pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Steelers’ latest extension efforts with Cameron Heyward have produced a deal. The All-Pro defensive lineman has an agreement in place on a another lucrative extension, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. The move is now official, per an announcement from his agency.

Heyward is now attached to a three-year, $45MM deal, Fowler adds. The pact includes $29MM in new money along with $16MM in guarantees (nearly $15MM of which is comprised of a signing bonus). These terms will allow Heyward to reach his stated goal of finishing his career as a Steeler.

One year remained on the 35-year-old’s pact, but he made it clear this offseason he was seeking a two-year extension. Today’s news means he will be in place through 2026 as he intended and put to rest the possibility of a free agent departure next spring. Heyward has spent his entire 13 years in the NFL with Pittsburgh, and his decorated tenure will all-but certainly conclude in the city.

Arriving with the Steelers as a first-round pick in 2011, Heyward did not see any starts during his first two seasons with the team. Since then, he has been a stalwart along the defensive line, regularly providing a high-end pass rush presence in the interior. He earned a Pro Bowl nod every year from 2017 to ’22, posting double-digit sacks three times during that span.

Heyward landed a five-year extension in 2015, and a four-year re-up in 2020. He has proven to be a sound investment both times from the Steelers’ perspective, but last year saw him miss time due to a groin injury. Heyward was limited to just two sacks in 2023, and while he is now healthy questions were raised in the offseason about his long-term outlook. As Fowler notes, this is believed to be the largest commitment ever made to a defender at age 35 or older. Suffice it to say, the Steelers are banking on Heyward regaining his previous form.

With four All-Pro nods on his resume (three first-team, one second-team), the Ohio State alum could remain a key member of Pittsburgh’s highly-compensated defense if he manages to put together a healthy campaign. He was due $16MM in 2024 under the terms of his old deal, one which will be replaced by this new accord. Heyward’s scheduled cap hit of $22.41MM will be lowered by this agreement Specifically, his 2024 salary has been converted into a signing bonus; that will save the Steelers over $9MM in cap space (h/t Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

It was learned earlier this week that Heyward – who floated the idea of joining a new team in free agency without a deal in place – had recently re-engaged with the Steelers on contract talks. Pittsburgh has a strict policy against negotiating in-season, creating Week 1 as a deadline for both parties to hammer out an agreement. That has now proven to be the case, and general manager Omar Khan has one less piece of business to attend to over the coming days.

Pittsburgh is also eyeing a deal with tight end Pat Freiermuth. 2024 marks the final year of his rookie contract, so getting an extension worked out on that front would prevent the potential of a March 2025 departure on the open market. Regardless of how that process plays out, Heyward will remain in the fold for the foreseeable future.

Jets To Extend CB Michael Carter II

September 3rd, 2024 at 9:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

The slot cornerback market saw significant movement this offseason. Both Taron Johnson and Kenny Moore moved the position’s bar past $10MM per year. That pertained to the Jets, who are moving to extend their inside corner.

Michael Carter II will be the league’s third pure slot corner to cross the eight-figure-per-year barrier. The fourth-year CB agreed to terms on a three-year, $30.75MM deal Tuesday, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Carter will see just more than $19MM guaranteed on this accord, which runs through the 2027 season.

Although the Jets broke up their Michael Carter pair by waiving the 2021 running back draftee late last season, they have been pleased with the other Michael Carter’s work. Lining up alongside Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed, Carter has fared well in Robert Saleh‘s defense since being a 2021 fifth-round pick. The Jets now have he and Reed tied to veteran deals. While this equation might change once Gardner is extension-eligible (2025), today’s deal lays out a future in which the All-Pro and Carter play together beyond their rookie contracts.

Rumors about a Carter extension surfaced early this summer, and the Jets took care of business just before Week 1. Carter, 25, allowed a career-low 51.6% completion rate as the closest defender in 2023. Pro-Football-Reference’s coverage metrics have assessed Carter as yielding QB ratings south of 76.0 in each of the past two seasons. Pro Football Focus also ranked Carter 12th among all corners in 2023. Carter intercepted two passes in 2022 and broke up nine in each of the past two seasons.

The Duke alum’s contract will overlap with at least one Gardner rookie-deal season, and the Jets could certainly aim to keep the standout boundary corner at the rookie rate in 2025 as well. Once the Jets pick up Gardner’s fifth-year option in 2025, he will be tied to the team through the 2026 season. We should expect to hear Gardner extension rumors next year, however, and the team will undoubtedly look to have a deal done by 2026 at the latest. Reed’s deal expires after this season; this Carter pact and the monster deal Gardner will seek stand to complicate the ex-Seahawk’s future in New York.

Moore re-signed with the Colts on a three-year, $30MM deal; Johnson inked his third Bills contract (three years, $30.75MM) soon after. Johnson and Carter are now the NFL’s highest-paid pure slots, with Pelissero adding this Jets contract can reach $33MM. This year has brought an important update to the slot corner market, which had been stagnant for a while leading up to the March accords.

Falcons Add QB Nathan Peterman

September 3rd, 2024 at 7:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Falcons have identified their de facto third-string quarterback. Following their Taylor Heinicke trade, the Falcons added Nathan Peterman to their practice squad.

This will be Peterman’s fifth NFL team and second stop in the NFC South. Spending this offseason in New Orleans, the well-traveled reserve QB has been with the Bills, Raiders and Bears as well. He will step in behind Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. as an emergency third-stringer, as Atlanta’s 53-man roster houses two QBs.

Still probably best known for his rough game outings with the Bills early in his career, Peterman has made a career out of third-string work and occasional game cameos. Most recently, the 2017 Buffalo draftee was with Las Vegas. But Antonio Pierce‘s team moved on, keeping their two training camp QB1 competitors (Gardner Minshew, Aidan O’Connell). The Raiders are not currently carrying a P-squad QB.

Peterman, 30, is 1-4 as a starter. His most recent outing came in Week 18 of the 2022 season, as the Bears parked Justin Fields for a finale that secured them the No. 1 overall pick in 2023. Peterman has a 4-to-13 career TD-INT ratio. The enduring taxi squad presence, however, continues to find opportunities. Peterman’s initial Raiders stint, during the Jon Gruden years, lasted for more than three seasons. He spent the 2022 and ’23 campaigns with the Bears, vacillating between P-squad arm and active-roster reserve. The Saints signed Peterman in March but cut him in early August.

The Falcons traded Heinicke to the Chargers for a conditional sixth-round pick. Heinicke, who took a pay cut this offseason, had not expected to make the Falcons’ 53-man roster for a second year. To make room on its P-squad, Atlanta released veteran tackle Julie’n Davenport. A 32-game starter, Davenport has not seen game action since 2021.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/3/24

September 3rd, 2024 at 6:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad moves:

Green Bay Packers 

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

  • Signed: DE Derrick McClendon

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Released: DL Kyon Barrs, OL Max Pircher

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/3/24

September 3rd, 2024 at 6:43pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills 

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

  • Removed from IR via injury settlement: DE Viliami Fehoko

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Seattle Seahawks

  • Removed from IR via injury settlement: DL Buddha Jones

Tennessee Titans

  • Waived: LB Luke Gifford
  • Removed from IR via injury settlement: WR Tre’Shaun Harrison

The Eagles waived Tuipulotu to make room for waiver claim Byron Young. Tuipulotu had worked as an Eagles rotational DT, playing 232 snaps in 2022 and 162 last season. A 2021 sixth-round pick, Tuipulotu notched two sacks and three tackles for loss last season.

Early September is a bit earlier than most teams poach a player of another club’s P-squad. The Panthers doing so means they must carry Swinson, a rookie UDFA out of Arizona State, on their 53-man roster for at least three weeks. Panthers tight ends Tommy Tremble and Ian Thomas are battling injuries. Swinson joins those two, veteran Jordan Matthews and rookie fourth-rounder Ja’Tavian Sanders on a rare five-TE depth chart.

Panthers Release OLB K’Lavon Chaisson

September 3rd, 2024 at 4:45pm CST by Adam La Rose

K’Lavon Chaisson‘s time with the Panthers is set to come to an end without any regular season game time. The former first-round edge rusher was released on Tuesday, per a team announcement.

Chaisson played out his rookie contract with the Jaguars, unsuccessfully attempting to carve out a regular role on defense. The 25-year-old logged 11 starts across his first two seasons in Jacksonville, but his playing time notably dropped after that point. With only five sacks to his name, Chaisson understandably did not have a strong free agent market in the spring.

Carolina added him on a one-year deal including $500K guaranteed. The team will see that amount become a dead money charge as a result of this move, but it will generate $2MM in savings. The Panthers are thin along the edge as things stand, with D.J. Wonnum and Amare Barno being placed on the reserve/PUP list last week. They will miss at least the first four weeks of the season.

The Panthers were tight against the cap heading into Tuesday, and this move will help in that regard. Carolina was already known to be on the lookout for an edge rush addition before cutting Chaisson, so a move for a healthy contributor should be expected in the coming days. At the moment, the team has Jadeveon Clowney, DJ Johnson, Eku Leota and Jamie Sheriff in place.

Chaisson could remain in the Panthers’ organization via a practice squad deal. Otherwise, he will seek out a new team in advance of Week 1 as he looks to find the opportunity for a long-term NFL gig. Given the LSU product’s rotational usage on special teams, he could land an end-of-the-roster role somewhere in relatively short order.

49ers Place WR Ricky Pearsall On NFI List

September 3rd, 2024 at 3:40pm CST by Adam La Rose

SEPTEMBER 3: General manager John Lynch said (via Barrows) the bullet which hit Pearsall did not strike any ribs, a factor which allowed him to be hospitalized for such a brief period. Lynch added he expects Pearsall to be available at some point during the 2024 campaign. That will not be possible until Week 5 at the earliest, but any regular season action would of course be a welcomed development.

SEPTEMBER 2: Ricky Pearsall will, to no surprise, be sidelined for at least the first four games of the regular season. The 49ers’ first-round rookie was placed on the non-football injury list Monday, as noted by ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.

Pearsall was the victim of an attempted robbery on Saturday and he suffered a gunshot wound to the chest. The 23-year-old was in serious but stable condition in the aftermath of the incident, and none of his vital organs were hit. In an encouraging update yesterday, Pearsall was discharged from hospital.

His recovery will now continue from home, but the 49ers will proceed with caution in terms of getting him back on the field. Pearsall – who had already missed considerable time in training camp and the preseason due to hamstring and shoulder injuries – will be sidelined for a notable period before being eligible to make his regular season debut.

As Matt Barrow of the Athletic notes, returning Pearsall from the NFI list to the active roster will count as one of the eight activations San Francisco has during the campaign. Those activations are generally meant for players placed on injured reserve before or after roster cuts.

The 49ers’ receiver depth chart is set with Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings in place to once again lead the way at the position. Pearsall’s selection on Day 1 of the draft came amidst trade talk surrounding Aiyuk and Samuel, although both are now under contract beyond 2024. Pearsall should occupy a rotational role once healthy, and with Samuel a potential trade candidate next offseason, he could step into a starting gig in 2025.

In a corresponding move, the 49ers signed offensive tackle Brandon Parker to the active roster. The former Raider is a veteran of 59 games and 33 starts, and he is positioned to take on the swing tackle role for Week 1. Jaylon Moore is on track to start at left tackle for San Francisco due to Trent Williams‘ ongoing holdout. The future Hall of Famer is on the reserve/did not report list while talks on a contract resolution continue. An agreement could be coming soon, but for at least the coming week Parker will likely be counted on as key depth up front.

Seahawks Add Jaren Hall To Practice Squad

September 2nd, 2024 at 7:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

One of the Vikings’ four starting quarterbacks last season, Jaren Hall could not stick with Minnesota’s 53-man roster this year. The Vikings waived the 2023 fifth-rounder to make room for Brett Rypien last week.

As Rypien makes his way from Chicago to the Twin Cities, Hall will receive another opportunity. The Seahawks are bringing him in as their de facto third-stringer. The Seahawks are adding Hall to its practice squad, per the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta. Seattle released wide receiver Easop Winston to make room.

[RELATED: Seahawks Not Discussing Geno Smith Extension]

Hall joined Kirk Cousins, Joshua Dobbs and Nick Mullens as Vikings QB starters during a rare four-QB1 season in NFL history. The BYU product completed 65% of his passes at an impressive 8.4 yards per attempt. Hall, however, suffered a concussion in his first start — leading to Dobbs’ quick post-trade debut — and was benched in his second start, a Week 17 loss to the Packers.

Hall had replaced a struggling Mullens ahead of Week 17 but did not get the call for the Vikes’ season finale. Minnesota still has Mullens on its 53-man roster, with the ex-San Francisco UDFA joining Rypien as Sam Darnold‘s backups. J.J. McCarthy is on IR. The Vikings are not carrying a practice squad passer.

Minnesota drafted Hall 164th overall, doing so after he threw 31 touchdown passes compared to six interceptions in his final BYU campaign. Hall succeeded Zach Wilson as the Cougars’ starter in 2021. The Seahawks showed pre-draft interest in the two-year college starter last year, per ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson.

The Seahawks will take over Hall’s development, stashing him behind Geno Smith and trade acquisition Sam Howell. Seattle had placed P.J. Walker in that role during training camp but cut the veteran backup/XFL 2.0 starter last week. Two years remain on Howell’s rookie contract, while Smith is also signed through the 2025 season. The Seahawks can elevate Hall to their 53-man roster up to three times, before they must use waivers to make him their emergency option — thanks to the NFLPA nixing an offseason rule change aimed at QB flexibility.

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