Tag: 2024 NFL Free Agency

Clyde Edwards-Helaire on staying with Chiefs: ‘K.C. literally is home’

RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire told reporters that he stayed with the #Chiefs because he has built a life for himself in Kansas City.

The importance of a hometown for an NFL franchise can’t be underestimated, especially with players constantly moving in trades and free agency. The Kansas City Chiefs have created an inviting culture for players since the start of the Andy Reid head coaching tenure, and it proved its value this offseason.

Edwards-Helaire opened up about some of the determining factors that kept him in Kansas City, and they didn’t have much to do with football. He spoke to reporters on Monday during his Zoom press conference.

“K.C. literally is home,” Edwards-Helaire explained. “I left Baton Rogue, Lousiana, where I was born and raised. Drafted to the middle of the country where everyone was telling me it was the best place on earth. The only thing I could do was embrace it.

“I was doing the thing I love, playing football, and I grew the most in these last five years. I got engaged and actually figured out what life is: buying homes, helping my mom with things, helping my parents. It’s just somewhere that I felt like I became a man.”

Since being drafted by the Chiefs in 2020, the former LSU National Champion has played multiple roles for the team in contributing to two Super Bowl titles. He has dealt with criticism and overcome it in front of Chiefs Kingdom with appreciation and humility.

“I was 20 years old, leaving college not really knowing what was going on,” Edwards-Helaire said. “Prior to that, I was still just a Baton Rouge, Louisiana kid at LSU just doing the thing I want to do was play football. Then, before you know it, snap of a finger, I was moving, 12 hours away from home, so this is literally my next spot, and it’s home. I want to continue to do still the things that I love.“

The Kansas City lifestyle has become an influence for players, and Edwards-Helaire seems to be enjoying his time in Western Missouri on and off the field.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire reflects on Chiefs declining his fifth-year option

Clyde Edwards-Helaire reflected on the #Chiefs’ decision to decline his fifth-year option during a press conference held this week.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been busy throughout the offseason, adding to and maintaining their Super Bowl roster. One of the players returning in 2024 is running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who officially signed his new deal on Monday.

He addressed the media via Zoom after finalizing his contract at the Chiefs’ facility and discussed the mindset he had in free agency after Brett Veach declined to pick up his fifth-year option in 2023.

“You really just look at things and call a spade a spade,” Edwards-Helaire explained. “Looking at the [cap] number, looking at things, looking at cap space, as a football guy and a player, you see those things. Some people call it the writing on the wall, and I call it the actual sport we’re playing.

“In the same way Pat [Mahomes] was doing [his contract restructure] at some point, he knew he was gonna have to rearrange some things to get guys around that we feel like we will need in order to win a Super Bowl.”

Edwards-Helaire made it clear that he understands the business aspect of sports and didn’t let Veach’s decision on his option change his mentality heading into last season. He played a pivotal role in solidifying the running back position through midseason injuries.

Said Edwards-Helaire about Kansas City’s 2023 season:

“Numbers are numbers, things change. Obviously, [they] changed from 2019 numbers to 2020s, all the way going into 2023, [and] 2024. I was fortunate enough I’m a first-round pick, like I said, to have a second spot [to] call home. You know, a lot of those times, man, just being around football and seeing it, why don’t you don’t want to say the fifth-year options are rare, but it’s not one of those things that you see, like, oh, I know, that’s an automatic thing that’s always going to happen. So, I knew I was getting an opportunity to continue to play. You know, that fourth year wasn’t like I was getting cut. It was a next year’s contract was what has been this year. I just knew, as long as I got a chance to put on a helmet and put on pads, I was gonna have that opportunity to showcase what I needed to do to be back on his team.”

Last season, Edwards-Helaire started three of the 15 games he played, shifting between being a third-down back and starter while tallying 223 yards rushing and 188 yards receiving. He had one touchdown as a runner and another as a receiver.

Every move the Ravens have made so far this offseason

With the 2024 NFL Draft fast approaching, we’re looking at every move the Baltimore Ravens have made this off-season

The Ravens will look drastically different on both sides of the football field after undergoing massive changes in player personnel and the coaching staff.

Baltimore signed Justin Madubuike, one of the league’s best defensive linemen, to an extension. After inking Madubuike to a deal, Baltimore landed Derrick Henry for two years and $16 million.

However, the Ravens suffered significant free-agent losses. 

Patrick Queen (Steelers), Geno Stone (Bengals), and Gus Edwards (Chargers) were among eight free agents to sign elsewhere. Baltimore also traded Morgan Moses to the Jets and released Tyus Bowser in a cost-cutting move.

With the NFL draft fast approaching, we’re reviewing every move Baltimore made this off-season.

Bleacher Report suggests an interesting free agent ‘best fit’ for the Lions

Bleacher Report suggests an interesting free agent ‘best fit’ for the Lions in journeyman LB Zach Cunningham

NFL free agency is still going on, even with the primary focus on the upcoming 2024 NFL draft. The good folks at Bleacher Report recently picked one remaining free agent who can help each NFL team.

The suggestion for the Detroit Lions is an interesting one. Linebacker Zach Cunningham, who spent 2023 with the Philadelphia Eagles, gets the nod from analyst Matt Holder.

While Alex Anzalone had a good season in 2023, the Lions could use another option to line up alongside Anzalone. Derrick Barnes’ play was up and down for the majority of last year and Jack Campbell had a pedestrian rookie campaign.

While technically correct on all accounts, it belies the expected growth in Campbell’s game for Detroit in his second season. The Lions didn’t draft Campbell in the first round a year ago to need to have to bring in a relatively pedestrian veteran to start over him, and Anzalone is coming off his best season and is the leader of the defense. Cunningham’s hit-and-miss coverage and very high missed tackle rate are discouraging, and his lack of upside as a 29-year-old journeyman with little special teams offering–he hasn’t been a regular special teams player since 2020, his last full year in Houston–is counter to the Lions’ plans with their reserve linebackers.

Additionally, the Lions do have nice depth at LB in Malcolm Rodriguez and Jalen Reeves-Maybin. Cunningham wouldn’t be a bad addition at all, but he’s far less necessary for Detroit than several other free agents on the list.

Overlooked free agent WR suggested as fit for Bengals

Should the Bengals go after this free agent?

The Cincinnati Bengals have a rather pressing need at wide receiver when taking into account the loss of Tyler Boyd and the long-term question mark around Tee Higgins.

As such, it’s becoming increasingly popular to see the Bengals taking a wide receiver in a mock draft or even adding a free agent.

One such example of this is Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder suggesting that veteran D.J. Chark Jr. is a fit for the Bengals:

To be honest, the Bengals have a pretty good roster where there isn’t much room for an outsider to come in and start right away. So, adding Chark would be a move to see if he can potentially replace Tee Higgins next season. The 2019 Pro Bowler isn’t the same player he used to be, but he is coming off back-to-back 500-yard campaigns.

Chark, yet another LSU wideout, spent last season in Carolina and over 15 games caught 35 passes for 525 yards and five scores. He’s been unable to reach the heights of his 2019 campaign (73 catches, 1,008 yards and eight scores) and had problems staying healthy.

Still, Chark is the type of veteran the Bengals might look to add over the spring. Andrei Iosivas and Charlie Jones aren’t locks to contribute full time and the team would like more speed from the slot than what Boyd offered.

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Bengals staffer thinks Joe Burrow is great for recruiting free agents

The Bengals know Joe Burrow is big with free agents.

The Cincinnati Bengals landed some solid free agents this offseason again, and Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com talked to the director of pro scouting, Steven Radicevic, about many different things, but of course, free agency came up.

When it comes to the Bengals, Radicevic believes the team has some advantage when it comes to some free agents and that advantage is having Joe Burrow as their quarterback.

Here’s what Radicevic had to say when Hobson asked whether Burrow being on the team helps when it comes to getting free agents to sign in Cincinnati:

It definitely does with guys like (tight ends) Mike Gesicki and Tanner Hudson. Those types of guys know they’re going to get their touches. I think Mike felt that a little bit last year in New England and knows what playing with a good quarterback can do for you. He definitely would have gotten a lot more going somewhere else, but he knew that coming here and playing on the one-year deal, he’s going to benefit from the quarterback and the system that we have.

Not only does Burrow provide an advantage on the field through the means of being a great quarterback, but he’s also helping off the field without even trying.

If having a good quarterback is a good recruiting tool in free agency, there aren’t many other teams that have a better way to persuade than the Bengals.

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Bengals free agent target Teair Tart signs with Dolphins

A target of the Bengals in free agency has signed elsewhere.

Apparent Cincinnati Bengals free-agent target Teair Tart has signed elsewhere on the open market.

The veteran defensive lineman is off to join the Miami Dolphins not long after a reported visit with the Bengals.

It never sounded like said visit was going to lead to a signing. A visit was a predictable outcome, though, after the Bengals were one of the teams that attempted to claim Tart on waivers last season.

The Bengals have otherwise pivoted to Sheldon Rankins as the DJ Reader replacement, with the organization recently commenting on that change. Reader, too, has had some interesting comments about his departure from the Bengals.

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Efe Obada like a role model for Commanders newest signee

Ndubuisi hopes to follow Obada’s lead to a long NFL career.

Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi met with the press Thursday, his first time since being signed by the Washington Commanders Wednesday.

Ndubuisi comes to the Commanders as a result of being part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program.

For those wondering, no, the signing of Ndubuisi does not unfairly eliminate a roster spot for another potential future player for the Commanders. This is because, beginning this season, each of the 32 NFL clubs is eligible to fill a 91st roster spot entering training camp and a 17th roster spot on its practice squad reserved for an international player.

The 23-year-old from Nigeria is a defensive lineman who stands 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 298 pounds. He spent last season with the Denver Broncos’ practice squad.

“I see this as an opportunity to keep living the dream, keep getting better and trying to achieve what the goal is, trying to be the best player. I feel like as each day passes I get to know, learn. It’s a learning process for me.”

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When asked what he is trying to achieve, Ndubuisi responded, “To be better than I was like previously. (I am) just trying to do the best, and just do my job. At the end of the day it’s all about doing my job.”

Ndubuisi volunteered that the coaches are very encouraging to him, he feels at home and welcomed.

Efe Obada was born in Nigeria and raised in the Netherlands and England. He was the first player to go straight from a European football league to the NFL and has had some success as a pass rusher for the Commanders.

“He’s like a role model for us because he happened to show us, prove to us that yes, it’s possible by putting more hard work and trying to (make an) impact in doing his job. I feel like if he could do it there’s nothing stopping us from doing the same.”

“I grew up playing soccer and basketball, but football for me was something I got introduced to later. I was putting hope in basketball and my first-ever video about football was greatest hits in football. I was amazed about it, and it was just so exciting.”

As a result, Ndubuisi began watching more football videos on Youtube, which furthered his interest in the sport and then led to him wanting to learn how to play it. He spoke of watching some videos and then going outside to practice what he had observed.

Ndubuisi gained his first experience in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals in 2022. He was then trying to make the team as an offensive lineman, but after appearing in one preseason game, he was released.

Contract details revealed for new Texans slot corner Myles Bryant

The Houston Texans agreed to a one-year deal with former Patriots nickel cornerback Myles Bryant, who has a past with GM Nick Caserio

Texans general manager Nick Caserio went back in time to find secondary help. The man who put together the roster learned from Bill Belichick and spent nearly two decades in New England. 

In 2020, the Patriots took a chance on undrafted free agent Myles Bryant. Four years later, the Texans signed the defender to a one-year deal worth $1.75 million with $500,000 guaranteed.

Bryant, 26, will count toward 1.2 million against the salary cap. With Bryant’s contract, the Texans have $23.9 million in cap space, ninth-most in the league, according to Over The Cap. 

Best used as a slot defender, Bryant enjoyed a career year last season, recording 77 tackles, seven passes defensed and one interception. New England experimented with Bryant playing on the outside, but after Week 5, primarily put him in the slot. 

Bryant recorded the 12th-most slot coverage snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Despite the significant snap count, opposing quarterbacks weren’t looking to throw Bryant’s way. He allowed a target every 6.9 coverage snaps, the 11th-fewest in the league.

Houston let former slot corner Tavierre Thomas walk this offseason, meaning Bryant will likely back up returning starter Desmond King.

The Texans made multiple one-year signings at cornerback with former top-10 picks Jeff Okudah and C.J. Henderson. DeMeco Ryan’s defense prioritizes long and lengthy outside defensive backs.

Houston made several moves on the defensive side of the ball. The unit ranked slightly above average a season ago, but as they attempt to elevate to contender status, they will need the defense to be up to par with the offense. 

Last season, the Texans allowed the 10th-most passing yards and sixth-highest per-attempt average. Houston and Philadelphia tied for the league lead in defensive pass interference calls.

Chiefs re-sign DE Mike Danna to three-year deal

The Kansas City #Chiefs are expected to re-sign veteran defensive end Mike Danna to a three-year contract.

The Kansas City Chiefs are keeping their core players on the defensive line intact for next season. The latest re-signing is defensive end Mike Danna, keeping him in Kansas City for next season and beyond.

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Danna has agreed to stay with Kansas City on a three-year deal. The 26-year-old has spent his entire NFL career with the Chiefs, starting all 16 games he played in 2023 and finishing with 6.5 sacks.

Since being selected in the 5th round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Danna took advantage of his first opportunity to be a consistent starter in 2023. He’s accumulated 128 tackles, 17 sacks, and four forced fumbles. He’s emerged as a trusted option for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who praised his work ethic.