Tag: 2020 NFL free agency

Instant reaction to the Lions signing RB Adrian Peterson

An instant reaction and analysis of the Lions signing RB Adrian Peterson

The Detroit Lions got an unexpected jump on the post-cut day transaction frenzy by signing running back Adrian Peterson.

Yeah, that Adrian Peterson. AD. The fifth-leading rusher in NFL history. The four-time All-Pro, seven-time Pro Bowler who tormented the Lions for so many years while a member of the Minnesota Vikings.

It’s a stunning shot of espresso to my black coffee on a holiday weekend morning. That seems to be the reaction from most Lions fans, and I share in it, too.

“Holy (insert expletive of your choosing) I didn’t see that coming!”

While my Lions Wire colleague Erik Schlitt did offer the possibility — Peterson was the first name on his list of players who should interest the Lions — I admittedly didn’t think it would happen. This is a Lions team that cut fifth-round rookie RB Jason Huntley because there was no room in the backfield for him, after all.

Peterson has still got some ability, even at 35. He trudged for 898 yards in shared duty with the Football Team last season. His physical, downhill, high-kneed power running is the same, though the initial burst and long speed have fallen off.

He will not be the starter or the workhorse in Detroit. I consider him an insurance policy for oft-injured Kerryon Johnson and currently injured D’Andre Swift, the clear top 1-2 punch. Peterson is a very different type of back from current No. 3 Ty Johnson.

In the immediate short-term, I expect Peterson to take over the Bo Scarbrough role of power back. Scarbrough, as is often the case with him, is currently injured. He could play quite a bit in the first couple of weeks while Swift eases back from his injury. What Peterson does transcends offensive scheme, so there’s no worry about acclimation to Darrell Bevell’s offense.

The larger question is, how will he perform?

The Peterson we saw in person last year in Washington was not impressive. He managed just 27 yards on 10 carries against last year’s Lions defense, missed a pass protection pickup and got chained to the bench in the second half in favor of Derrius Guice.

Yet he also had some great performances. One week later he dashed through Carolina for 99 yards on just 13 carries. He scored a touchdown, something he’s done more than Barry Sanders in his career, four straight weeks.

Peterson topped 20 carries just once and averaged about 15 touches per game on the year. My snap reaction is he’ll have weeks where he gets 15-18 touches for the Lions and others where he gets four. We’re not kidding when we tell you it’s a running back committee in Detroit…

I do have some trepidation that this is another LeGarrette Blount signing. Fans loved the name but quickly learned to loathe the results, an NFL-worst yards-per-carry average and a decided disinterest in caring about it. I worry this is another Dwight Freeney situation, too.

Freeney was a surefire Hall-of-Famer signed at the end of his career with some fanfare. In 125 snaps for Detroit in 2017, Freeney failed to record a single statistic. No sacks, no tackles, not even a single QB pressure.

I don’t believe Peterson is washed up like that. I do think it’s best to temper expectations. He’s not worth drafting in fantasy football. But he can still create a little magic with his blessed running ability.

 

Report: Lions will sign RB Adrian Peterson

Report: Lions will sign RB Adrian Peterson

Lions fans just waking up on Sunday morning got a jolt in the form of a surprise signing. Per a report from Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, the Lions are signing veteran RB Adrian Peterson.

Peterson was cut by the Washington Football Team earlier this weekend. The 35-year-old ran for 898 yards in 14 games in Washington last season.

He’s best-known for his All-Pro days with the Minnesota Vikings. Peterson made four first-team All-Pro nods between 2008 and 2015. He ranks fifth on the NFL’s career rushing yardage list with 14,216 yards.

Lions worked out 4 DBs including former Michigan CB Jeremy Clark

Lions worked out 4 DBs including former Michigan CB Jeremy Clark

The Detroit Lions are in the process of cutting down the roster to just 53 players by Saturday, but they are still also looking to add potential talent too.

The Lions worked out four defensive backs as part of Monday’s festivities at team headquarters in Allen Park. The foursome, courtesy of Kyle Meinke of MLive,

Clark is probably the most familiar name for Lions fans. He played collegiately at Michigan before being a sixth-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. He was most recently with the Seattle Dragons of the XFL after several injuries derailed his Jets career.

None of the players were immediately signed to the roster.

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The Lions need to just say no on DeShone Kizer

The Lions need to just say no on free agent QB DeShone Kizer, who is working out for the team this week

Free agent quarterback DeShone Kizer is working out for the Detroit Lions this week. The news of the pending workout got the social media world buzzing about the former Notre Dame and Cleveland Browns starter.

While it’s never a bad idea to work out players, especially younger players, the Lions need to avoid biting into the Kizer apple. While it’s shiny and looks sweet on the outside, the actual experience of Kizer playing quarterback is terribly sour.

I covered Kizer and his 15-game run as the Browns starter in 2017. As managing editor of the Browns Wire, I intently watched every play. I watched every fumble, all nine of them. I had to break down every interception, all 24 of them. The Browns lost every game, and Kizer drove that bus straight over the winless cliff.

Was it all his fault? Heck no. The Browns committed myriad football sins in that year, from having an incompetent GM, Sashi Brown, who didn’t value talent as much as valued draft value, to trotting out one of the worst receiving corps in modern NFL history (Kenny Britt, Corey Coleman, Ricardo Louis). Coach Hue Jackson proved the offensive version of Rod Marinelli, a good man hopelessly swimming in waters well over his head as the leader of the entire football team. The veteran mentors for the second-round rookie were Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan after Brown sold off Brock Osweiler for spare parts.

But Kizer was brutal on his own, too. His complete lack of decisiveness and anticipation was downright painful to watch. It led to the league-leading turnover figure. What really killed Kizer was his lack of ball security in the red zone. It was so astonishingly awful it merited a special breakdown.

DeShone Kizer leads all QBs in red-zone turnover percentage, giving the ball away on 9.5 percent of his red-zone plays.

Kizer had more red zone turnovers on his own that season (10) than any other entire team did. They were not flukish giveaways, either.

Despite playing behind one of the league’s best offensive lines (Joe Thomas, Joel Bitonio, JC Tretter, Kevin Zeitler, Shon Coleman), Kizer was a panicky mess. He utterly refused to throw the ball until he saw the receiver open, completely eliminating any semblance of timing on routes.

Putting his miserable Browns experience aside, look at what happened with Kizer in Green Bay. The Packers pounced, trading a starting safety (Damarious Randall) to land him as their latest “Aaron Rodgers eventual successor”. Lions fans witnessed that one firsthand. It went something like this…

Kizer’s stat line from his backup duty in Green Bay — another team that featured a pretty good offensive line: 20-for-42, 187 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs, 4 sacks, 1 fumble. The Packers quietly dumped him after the season, less than 10 months after they traded away a former first-round pick to get him, brimming with promise. He hasn’t played since, sitting on the Raiders bench as their No. 3 QB last year behind Derek Carr and Mike Glennon.

Could Kizer turn it around and prove doubters like me wrong? It could happen. The draftnik in me that liked him coming out of Notre Dame still hopes it happens for Kizer, a genuinely nice and smart young man who does have some physical tools. But the odds of that happening in Detroit simply aren’t worth the time in this altered summer.

 

Lions sign DT Kevin Wilkins, waive Olive Sagapolu

Wilkins was with the Eagles under Cory Undlin in 2019

The Detroit Lions added a new defensive tackle to the roster just ahead of Thursday’s practice session in Allen Park. The Lions announced they have signed free agent Kevin Wilkins to a contract.

In order to make room for Wilkins, the team waived DT Olive Sagapolu.

Wilkins was most recently with the New York Giants. He spent most of the 2019 season on the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad, where he spent time working with new Lions defensive coordinator Cory Undlin. He was originally an undrafted free agent from Rutgers. The 25-year-old Wilkins has not played in an NFL game as of yet.

 

Former Browns DE Chris Smith signs with the Raiders

Smith played 25 games with the Browns in 2018-19

Former Cleveland Browns defensive end Chris Smith has found a new home. Smith signed a one-year contract with the Las Vegas Raiders in hopes of rejuvenating his career.

Smith played all of the 2018 season and the nine games of 2019 with the Browns as a reserve defensive end. He had 22 tackles and one sack in limited duty, playing a little over 20 percent of available snaps.

The Browns waived Smith in December. His year was turned on its head when his girlfriend was killed in a tragic car accident on I-90 in Cleveland. Smith latched on with the Carolina Panthers earlier this offseason but was quickly released.

Browns sign veteran LB Malcolm Smith

The Browns signed former Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith on Sunday

The Browns have made an addition to the linebacking corps. The team signed former Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith to a contract on Sunday.

Terms of the deal with Smith are undisclosed. The veteran spent last season between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Dallas Cowboys. He had auditioned for the Browns earlier this week and signed once he cleared COVID-19 protocols.

Browns will hold a tryout for veteran LB Malcolm Smith

Smith was the MVP of Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seahawks

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The Cleveland Browns will hold a workout this week for free agent linebacker Malcolm Smith.

Smith, 31, is best-known as the MVP of Super Bowl XLVIII with the Seattle Seahawks. He had a pick-six off Peyton Manning and also racked up 10 tackles in the Seahawks’ blowout win over the Denver Broncos following the 2012 season.

His best seasons have been with the Oakland Raiders in 2015-2016, the only years where the 6-0, 225-pounder been a full-time starter. Smith notched over 100 tackles both years and created seven takeaways (5 forced fumbles, 2 INTs).

Smith divided his 2019 season between Jacksonville and Dallas after being a preseason cut by the San Francisco 49ers. He’s not been the same player since tearing his pectoral muscle in the 2017 preseason while a member of the 49ers.

The Browns still have a need for a veteran linebacker regardless of the prognosis for starting LB Mack Wilson’s injured left knee.

Browns bring in 4 kickers for workouts

Austin Seibert made 25 of his 29 FG attempts as a rookie

Austin Seibert has been the only placekicker on the Cleveland Browns roster for nearly a year. Since beating out Greg Joseph in a training camp battle last summer, it’s been all Seibert.

The Browns decided that might need to change. Or perhaps they were motivating the second-year kicker from Oklahoma. Either way, the team brought in four free agent kickers for a workout on Wednesday.

Veterans Nick Folk and Kai Forbath are the most notable of the foursome, none of whom were signed as of press time. Matthew McCrane and Cody Parkey also visited with the Browns.

The 35-year-old Folk is in the top 50 in NFL history in scoring, while Forbath ranks 9th in NFL history in field goal accuracy. Both were affiliated with the Patriots in 2019.

Seibert made 25 of his 29 field goal attempts in his rookie campaign. He did struggle more on extra points, missing five. He made the PFWA All-Rookie team, as did punter Jamie Gillan.

Browns sign center Casey Dunn, waive OG Jovahn Fair

Dunn played under Browns OL coach Bill Callahan in Washington

Casey Dunn’s audition for the Cleveland Browns on Saturday turned into a job for the center on Sunday. Just before the start of Sunday morning’s practice session, the Browns signed the free agent center to a contract.

To make room for Dunn, the team waived guard Jovahn Fair. His tenure with the Browns lasted less than a week.

Dunn is a familiar face for Browns offensive line coach Bill Callahan. He began his career in Washington in 2018 while Callahan was the interim head coach of the Football Team, playing in two games. He spent most of the 2019 season on the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad.

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