Tag: 2021 NFL Free Agency

Lions to sign veteran CB Nickell Robey-Coleman

Robey-Coleman played under Lions DBs coach Aubrey Pleasant with the Rams

The Detroit Lions are adding cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman to the roster after the veteran visited the team on Monday. Ian Rapoport from the NFL Network was the first to report the signing, which has been confirmed by local sources in Detroit.

Robey-Coleman has played almost exclusively in the slot in his eight-year NFL career. He spent 2020 with the Philadelphia Eagles, starting seven of 15 games and notching 44 total tackles and one PD. He has also played for the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams, where he worked under Lions GM Brad Holmes and DB coach Aubrey Pleasant.

The Lions are looking for help at slot corner. Free agent signee Corn Elder has not had a great camp, and veteran Mike Ford has been hit-and-miss. Undrafted rookie A.J. Parker has taken some first-team reps of late in the slot as well.

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Report: Lions will host free agent CB Nickell Robey-Coleman on Monday

Veteran free agent slot corner Nickell Robey-Coleman will visit the Lions on Monday

The Lions training camp competition at slot cornerback hasn’t exactly thrived through the first 10 practice sessions. The lack of a surefire winner of the ongoing trials could be leading the Lions to look outside Detroit for some help.

According to Josina Anderson, the Lions will host veteran slot CB Nickell Robey-Coleman for a free agent visit on Monday.

Robey-Coleman, 29, played for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020. He spent the three prior seasons as the primary slot corner for the Los Angeles Rams, where Lions GM Brad Holmes and assistant GM Ray Agnew both worked in the front office.

Detroit’s current slot corner situation is a little murky. Free agent Corn Elder signed this offseason, but he’s not off to a flying start in Detroit and has been getting some reps on the outside. Mike Ford has taken a lot of first-team reps in the slot with mixed results but some promise. In Friday’s practice session, undrafted rookie A.J. Parker even worked with the first-team defense as the nickel back.

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Browns try out several free agents at training camp

The Cleveland Browns had 5 free agents in for a tryout on Thursday

Browns general manager Andrew Berry continues to deliver on his promise of aggressively searching for talent. Berry and the Browns gave official tryouts to five free agents, per the NFL’s transaction wire.

The players who were in Berea for a tryout:

  • Thomas Leggett, S
  • Corey Taylor, RB
  • Ryan Willis, QB
  • Marlon Williams, WR
  • Ben Putnam, WR

None of the players have ever taken an NFL snap, and all but Willis are undrafted rookies. The Browns did not immediately sign any from the quintet.

Raiders host veteran LB KJ Wright on free-agent visit

Raiders host veteran LB KJ Wright on free-agent visit

We have now officially reached the aged former great NFL players portion of the program. Wednesday it was the team signing former Pro Bowl DT Gerald McCoy and today the Raiders are meeting with longtime Seahawks LB KJ Wright according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Wright has been a mainstay at linebacker for the Seahawks for the last ten years. The first two years of his career he had Gus Bradley as his defensive coordinator.

Wright just turned 32 years of age and with camps about a week in across the league, it’s time to try and get in one.

What it means for the Raiders’ linebacker corps that they are looking out Wright is hard to say. Currently, the expected starters for the Raiders are Cory Littleton, Nick Kwiatkoski, and Nicholas Morrow. Wright is an inside linebacker and Morrow has been handling those assignments lately due in part to his familiarity with Bradley’s scheme. Well, Wright is quite familiar with it as well, hence the interest.

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Lions host free agent center Evan Boehm for a visit

Boehm has 21 career starts over 4 NFL seasons

There was an extra player at the Detroit Lions team facilities on Thursday. The Lions hosted free agent center Evan Boehm on a visit, per the NFL’s transaction wire.

Boehm is not to be confused with Evan Brown, though Boehm’s visit in Detroit could be directly related to Brown. The Lions placed Brown, the projected backup center behind Pro Bowler Frank Ragnow, on the non-football injury list upon his reporting to camp earlier this week. The Lions need someone to take those reps in practice, and Boehm could be the beneficiary.

Boehm is an experienced NFL starter. The 27-year-old from Missouri has started 21 games over four NFL seasons, most recently with the Miami Dolphins in the 2019 season. He can also play either guard spot. Boehm was with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills in 2020 but did not see any action.

The Lions have not made a roster move as of press time.

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Lions claim DT Bruce Hector off waivers from the Titans

Bruce Hector joins the Lions a day after being waived by the Titans

The roster vacancy created when defensive tackle Brian Price retired instead of reporting to Detroit Lions training camp did not stay open for long. The Lions used the open roster spot to claim defensive tackle Bruce Hector off waivers from the Tennessee Titans, per his agent, Christina Phillips.

Hector was waived by the Titans on Monday when Tennessee signed DT Kyle Peko. The 26-year-old tackle spent the 2020 season on the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad. Hector played in the 2018 and 2019 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, with a brief stint in Arizona mixed in as well. He has a half-sack and two total tackles in eight career games. The 296-pounder played collegiately at South Florida.

As was the case with the now-retired Price, Hector faces an uphill battle to make the Lions at the team’s deepest position group.

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Two free agents for the Lions to consider as training camp nears

The Lions have two roster openings at the start of camp and our Max Gerber has ideas on how to fill those vacancies

As the team prepares for training camp this week, the Detroit Lions have two open spots on their 90-man roster.

Detroit already had one roster spot available since the conclusion of the NFL Draft and the recent retirement of defensive lineman Brian Price cleared up space for one more player to be brought in.

The question is, which players or positions should Brad Holmes and the rest of the Lions’ front office bring in to fill those two open slots on the roster?

Arguably, the most glaring need for Detroit is at the safety position. 2018 draft pick Tracy Walker is a clear starter in the secondary, but the team is lacking a starting-caliber strong safety to compliment Walker in their defense.

There are a number of capable safeties that are still available to sign at this moment including Tre Boston, Kenny Vaccaro, and Detroit-area native Jeff Heath.

All three players have at least five seasons of starting experience at the safety position and would be instant upgrades over Will Harris, Dean Marlowe, and the other young and inexperienced safeties currently rostered by the Lions.

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Vaccaro is likely the best option of the three and has two seasons of experience with Detroit’s defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who was his secondary coach in New Orleans.

He most recently was with the Tennessee Titans, where he recorded 83 tackles over the span of 13 games.

If the Lions were to sign Vaccaro, that would leave one more open spot on their roster. While they could opt to double-down on the safety position, there is another place on defense that they should look to bolster.

Another available free agent with ties to New Orleans is former Pro Bowler Kwon Alexander.

The former Buccaneers, 49ers, and Saints linebacker could offer some versatility for that position group and would likely be an instant starter as an inside linebacker in Glenn’s defense.

Over 12 games in 2020, Alexander forced two fumbles and is credited with one quarterback sack. His ability to rush the passer from the MIKE role would be a valuable asset for the Lions’ defense. At just 26-years-old, he could easily be a long-term option for Detroit.

 

 

DT Maliek Collins explains why he chose the Texans

Veteran defensive tackle Maliek Collins provides a reason why he chose the Houston Texans in free agency.

Maliek Collins presumably could have had gone anywhere in 2021. Instead, the former Dallas Cowboy and Las Vegas Raider decided to sign with an AFC South club amid discord with its franchise quarterback and ushering in a new coaching regime.

The former 2016 fourth-round pick from Nebraska was looking for an opportunity, and the Texans presented the best chance for the 26-year-old.

“I just needed an opportunity and I thought it was a great opportunity for a team trying to build a team with a fresh start,” Collins told Aaron Wilson of Sports Talk 790. “And, quite honestly, I needed a fresh start, too, so it was the best place I could have picked. Of course being back in Texas is good. I still live up in Dallas, so I’m good.”

Collins, who stands at 6-2, 308 pounds, figures to be a three-technique defensive tackle in the Texans’ new scheme, a Tampa 2, the signature of defensive coordinator Lovie Smith.

In his lone season with the Raiders, Collins provided 15 combined tackles and a quarterback hit in 12 games, 11 of which he started. The production represented a down year for Collins.

“I just didn’t put out no numbers,” Collins said. “It just wasn’t a big statistical year for me. I’ll bounce back.”

With the Cowboys, Collins produced 14.5 sacks, 84 combined tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 40 quarterback hits, a forced fumble, and five fumble recoveries through 61 career games, 55 of which he started.

Houston has Ross Blacklock and Brandon Dunn that can play defensive tackle. Charles Omenihu also figures to be part of the Texans’ solutions at defensive tackle with his ability to play inside and outside.

After the Texans’ eight-week offseason program, defensive line coach Bobby King said that Collins was living up to expectations.

“He’s as advertised as a person and as a player so far,” King told reporters on June 8 on a Zoom call. “I’m excited to work with him. Yes, he does have some juice and I’m expecting some good things out of him.”

The Texans report to camp on July 27.

How much are the Texans spending at each position in 2021?

See which positions take up large chunks of the Houston Texans’ 2021 salary cap space.

First-year general manager Nick Caserio has executed almost 100 roster transactions since he joined the Houston Texans in January.

“There’s always new players on every team, league-wide,” Caserio told “Payne & Pendergast” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] on June 14. “For the most part you can go to one extreme to the other. 25 to 30% of the team is going to be new anyway. So, again, what you try to do is look at what you’re dealing with right now with your team and each year is different. Each team is going to be different. We’ve added a number of new players to our team.”

Here is a look at the positional spending for the Texans according to Spotrac.

John Johnson III’s contract considered a top five value in the NFL

Normally, NFL free-agent deals are overpays but the Cleveland Browns contract with John Johnson is a top-five value according to PFF.

Generally speaking, signing free agents from other teams results in overpaying but not so for the Cleveland Browns when signing John Johnson III, according to Pro Football Focus.

Figuring out how to evaluate contracts versus a player’s talent is an obviously difficult process. With the ever-growing complexities of NFL contracts, with void years, bonuses, etc, it has become even more difficult to evaluate contract value for players.

A majority of the time, good value is found on rookie deals or when teams identify their own player to extend early in the process. Those deals allow teams to spend more at different positions or on different players while maintaining a high level of play.

Value is a commonly held value in business and personal lives. If someone can get something “50% off” (a legit 50% off, not the mark it up then mark it down variety) and that item is quality, that value creates excitement and enjoyment.

The same is true in the NFL. PFF gave their top 32 value contracts which included the one recently signed by Johnson and the Browns coming in fifth place:

5. S JOHN JOHNSON III, CLEVELAND BROWNS: THREE YEARS, $33.75 MILLION ($24 MILLION TOTAL GUARANTEED)

The four deals negotiated above Johnson’s are all interesting. Stephon Diggs was traded to Buffalo before signing his extension while Darren Waller, Danielle Hunter and DaVante Adams all signed their newest deals with teams they have been with for a while. Hunter’s deal was recently redone, setting him up for earlier free agency, and Adams is set for free agency next offseason. Both could be looking to no longer being on “value” contracts in 2022.

For Cleveland, Johnson’s signing was their biggest impact signing this offseason despite the relative value of the deal. This season, Johnson has less than a $4 million cap hit for the Browns but that more than doubles next year and jumps to $13.5 million in 2023. Thanks to void years, Johnson will count almost $9 million against the Browns cap in 2024 even if he is not on the team.

With Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward and Nick Chubb, among others, coming due for new contracts, Andrew Berry will need to continue to find as much value in contracts as possible.

Johnson’s value is a great sign of things to come.