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Seahawks Re-Sign Josh Gordon

September 3rd, 2020 at 10:20am CST by Rory Parks

The Seahawks are re-signing talented but troubled wideout Josh Gordon, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com was first to report (Twitter link). Gordon was hit with an indefinite suspension in December for violating the league’s policies on performance-enhancing substances and substances of abuse, but he applied for reinstatement in June. According to Fowler, that process is going well, so Gordon may be cleared for a return soon (Twitter link).

Most NFL fans are familiar with Gordon’s saga at this point. The December ban marked Gordon’s sixth suspension since he entered the league as a supplemental draft choice in 2012, and he missed the entire 2014-15 campaigns due to violations of the league’s substance abuse policy.

Teams continue to be intrigued by his undeniable talent, but he is getting farther and farther away from his tremendous 2013 season with the Browns, when he piled up 87 catches for a league-best 1,646 yards and nine TDs. The Patriots acquired him from Cleveland in September of 2018, and he produced pretty well for New England that year, tallying 40 catches for 720 yards and three scores during 11 regular season games. But in what would become something of a Christmas tradition, Gordon was suspended indefinitely in December 2018 for another substance abuse violation.

He was reinstated last August and returned to the Pats, who had placed an original-round RFA tender on him to secure his services. New England placed him on IR in October due to a knee injury and waived him about a week later. The Seahawks subsequently claimed him off waivers.

Gordon, 29, showed flashes of his old self in Seattle, and prior to his latest suspension, he expressed his desire to return to the Seahawks. The ‘Hawks reciprocated that interest in July, and Gordon has been working out in the Seattle area in the hopes of getting a call.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that Gordon’s contract is a one-year pact that can be worth a little over $1MM (Twitter link). That’s a low-risk, high-reward flier for the Seahawks, who recently re-signed Paul Richardson to add to a solid WR corps that also includes Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf.

Buccaneers Sign RB Leonard Fournette

September 3rd, 2020 at 9:46am CST by Rory Parks

The Bucs got their man. Shortly after it was reported that Tampa was pursuing former Jacksonville RB Leonard Fournette, the Bucs agreed to terms with the 2017 first-rounder, per Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network (via Grant Gordon of NFL.com).

It will be a one-year deal worth up to $3.5MM. Fournette will take home a base salary of $2MM and will have the chance to earn an extra $1.5MM in incentives based on rushing yards and playing time. Plus, since Fournette’s deal with the Jags did not include offset language, he could still pocket the $4.2MM that he was due to earn this year prior to being waived by Jacksonville if he wins his grievance against his former club.

Tampa was said to be interested in Fournette earlier this year and reportedly engaged in trade talks with Jacksonville. Ultimately, the Bucs were able to acquire him without sacrificing any draft capital, but their RB room has become pretty crowded. In addition to incumbent Ronald Jones, Tampa added Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Raymond Calais in the draft and signed veteran LeSean McCoy in July.

Prior to the Fournette signing, the team continued to tout Jones as its RB1, but Fournette is clearly the better back, even if he hasn’t quite lived up to his status as a former No. 4 overall pick. And since McCoy was signed for the veteran minimum, some have speculated that the Bucs could release him, though Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network says that Shady remains in the team’s plans (Twitter link). Fournette did pick up 76 receptions out of the backfield last year, but he may see most of his work on first and second downs while McCoy becomes a third-down/passing game complement.

Fournette added 265 carries for 1,152 yards in 2019, good for a career-high 4.3 yards-per-carry average. He now has a prime opportunity to truly break out in what is shaping up to be a prolific offense.

Titans Sign Stephen Gostkowski

September 3rd, 2020 at 8:39am CST by Zachary Links

The Titans have signed four-time Pro Bowler Stephen Gostkowski, per a club announcement. To make room, they’ve waived incumbent kicker Greg Joseph.

Gostkowski, the Patriots’ all-time leading scorer, lost his 2019 season to a labrum tear. Now, the 36-year-old is healthy, and ready to begin the next chapter of his career.

The Titans have been concerned about their kicking situation for some time. Last year, the Titans effectively went to the conference championship game in spite of their kickers. Four kickers combined to go just 8-of-18 on field goal tries – Joseph attempted just one FG, and made it, in the playoffs. Before this week’s shuffle, the Titans’ only other in-house option was UDFA Tucker McCann.

McCann may still get a chance to compete with Gostkowski, but it stands to reason that the veteran will be the team’s one and only kicker when the season starts. With 28 playoff games and 39 postseason field goals under his belt, Gostkowski fits the bill for the Titans, who are looking to take another leap forward in 2020.

Patriots Release Mohamed Sanu

September 2nd, 2020 at 5:04pm CST by Ben Levine

Mohamed Sanu‘s stint with the Patriots has already come to an end. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that New England has released the veteran wideout.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise; it was less than a year ago that the Patriots sent a second-rounder to Atlanta for the receiver. However, the 31-year-old underwhelmed during his eight regular season games (six starts) with New England, hauling in 26 receptions (on 47 targets) for 207 yards and one score. He was also invisible during the Patriots’ playoff loss to the Titans, as he caught a single 11-yard pass.

Sanu landed on PUP to start camp in early August, and reports have indicated that he’s been a step slow throughout the month. Ultimately, the Patriots decided to just move on from the veteran, clearing the team $6.5MM in cap space.

There are plenty of receiver-needy teams throughout the NFL, so it shouldn’t take Sanu very long to find another gig. Plus, he’s only a season removed from a 2018 campaign where he finished with a career-high 838 receiving yards to go along with 66 receptions and four touchdowns.

While the Patriots offense was already going to look a whole lot different in 2020 with Cam Newton at the helm, it was still assumed that Sanu would lead the depth chart along with Julian Edelman. Now, the team will see what they can get from former first-rounder N’Keal Harry, as well as the likes of Damiere Byrd, Gunner Olszewski, and Devin Ross.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/2/20

September 2nd, 2020 at 3:42pm CST by Zachary Links

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

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Acquired via trade: 2021 7th-Round Pick (from Giants)

Minnesota Vikings

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Signed: RB Pete Guerriero
  • Waived: LB B.J. Bello, DL Sterling Johnson

San Francisco 49ers

Tennessee Titans

Cowboys To Cut WR Devin Smith

September 2nd, 2020 at 2:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Devin Smith played a minor role for the Cowboys last season, starting two games despite not playing in any during the 2017 and ’18 campaigns. But Dallas will not carry the wideout over to its 53-man roster this year.

The Cowboys are cutting Smith, Jon Machota of The Athletic tweets. They also waived offensive lineman Adam Redmond on Wednesday.

A former second-round Jets pick, Smith signed with the Cowboys via reserve/futures contract in January of 2019. This followed an injury-plagued New York stay, but the Ohio State product could not carve out much of a role with Dallas either. He caught five passes last season, and while one of them went for a long touchdown, Smith only played in four games.

Dallas drafted CeeDee Lamb in Round 1 and has other capable holdovers behind starters Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup. Originally a Colts UDFA out of Harvard, Redmond played in 10 games for the Cowboys in 2018 but did not see action last season. He landed on IR in November.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/1/20

September 1st, 2020 at 5:22pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Miami Dolphins

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Waived: K Elliott Fry

Bengals, Joe Mixon Agree To $48MM Deal

September 1st, 2020 at 2:57pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bengals and Joe Mixon have agreed to a four-year deal worth $48MM, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). With that, the Bengals now have their primary running back under contract through 2025. 

Mixon, 24, has been pushing for a new deal throughout the summer. The Bengals remained adamant about wanting to extend him, but talks were slow to progress. Last week, Mixon said that he was unable to practice due to migraines, and that may have helped to speed things up. Now, Mixon will earn an average of $12MM/year starting in 2021, after he finishes out his rookie deal, which pays $1.2MM.

“He’s in a year that he can be extended, and he is a guy that we visited with,” Bengals player personnel director Duke Tobin said earlier this summer. “We’ll go through those discussions and see if there is a fit or a match for a long-term contract with him, obviously a guy we value quite a bit. The great thing about Joe is he goes about it the right way… He’s the type of guy you want to lock up to a long-term deal.”

Mixon managed a respectable 4.1 yards per carry average last year, despite the Bengals’ sagging offense. This year, he’ll look to reprise his 2018 performance which included a 4.9 YPC mark.

Mixon’s deal, as expected, falls short of Christian McCaffrey‘s $16MM/year mega-deal, but also exceeds some of the projections we heard earlier this year. At one point, it was reported that Mixon was gunning to be one of the eight highest-paid RBs in the league, which would have required just $8MM/year. His actual figure, $12MM per annum, seems more in line with Mixon’s talent level.

The complete details of the deal will give us a better picture of how Mixon stacks up against the league’s other top-earning rushers. That info will also inform ongoing talks for other standouts like Alvin Kamara and Dalvin Cook.

Rams’ Travin Howard Done For Year

September 1st, 2020 at 1:48pm CST by Zachary Links

Travin Howard will miss the 2020 season with a torn meniscus, as Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic tweets. The Rams will make it official this week by placing the linebacker on injured reserve. 

[RELATED: Rams, Ramsey Not Close On Extension]

Howard, a 2018 seventh-round pick, spent the early part of his career as a practice squad and special teams player. In 2019, he made the most of his opportunity and closed strong with 13 tackles and three pass breakups over the final five weeks of the season. This summer, he was in the midst of an impressive camp and potentially in the conversation to start. Now, he’ll have to wait until 2021 to potentially take his next big leap forward.

Even before the injury, the Rams were concerned about their lack of depth at inside linebacker. Troy Reeder – who is hardly a household name – leads the team’s ILBs in career starts with eight. Former Raven Kenny Young stands as the only other ILB on the roster with starting experience.

Vikings, Riley Reiff Agree To New Deal

September 1st, 2020 at 1:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Riley Reiff is staying put. The Vikings are on the verge of finalizing a restructured contract that will keep the starting left tackle in Minnesota, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. 

Earlier this week, we heard that Reiff was expecting to be released by the cap-crunched Vikings. Thanks to the recent addition of Yannick Ngakoue, the Vikes were skittish about paying Reiff his scheduled $10.9MM in base pay and thinking about dropping him for $8.8MM in cap space. Heading into Tuesday morning, the Vikings had just $1.2MM in cap room, the lowest total in the league. The Vikings asked Reiff to decide on whether to take a pay cut or be cut by today, and he’s rendered his verdict.

Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Reiff has agreed to drop his salary from $10.9MM to $6MM (Twitter link). He can earn $2MM of that back via playing time incentives, with Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network tweeting that Reiff will earn an additional $1MM if he plays in 86% of the team’s snaps in 2020 and another $1MM if he plays in 93.75% of snaps. Reiff was on the field of 85.7% of Minnesota’s offensive snaps in 2019, so the incentives are reachable but will be considered not likely to be earned for cap purposes, meaning that they will not count as a cap charge.

Reiff, 31, signed with the Vikings in 2017. Since then, he’s made 43 regular season starts at left tackle, though the Vikings were once thinking about moving him to the interior. In April, the Vikes tapped versatile lineman Ezra Cleveland in the second round, but they believe that he’s still too green for significant playing time. With quality tackles in short supply, the Vikings are glad to have struck middle ground with Reiff.

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