Tag: Frank Clark

Broncos signing pass rusher Frank Clark to 1-year contract

The Denver Broncos are adding more depth to their pass-rush rotation by signing veteran Frank Clark.

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The Denver Broncos plan to sign free agent pass rusher Frank Clark, according to a report from the Score’s Jordan Schultz.

The one-year deal will be worth up to $7.5 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Clark will have a guaranteed $5.5 million base salary and he can earn up to $2 million more through incentives.

Clark (6-3, 272 pounds) spent the last four years with the Kansas City Chiefs, totaling 127 tackles (32 behind the line), 59 quarterback hits, 23.5 sacks, six forced fumbles and one interception in 58 games.

Before that, Clark played for the Seattle Seahawks from 2015-2018. In four years with the Seahawks, Clark recorded 136 tackles (35 behind the line), 72 quarterback hits, 35 sacks, eight forced fumbles and two interceptions in 62 games.

The 29-year-old pass rusher arrives in Denver with two Super Bowl wins and three Pro Bowl nods on his resume. Last year, Clark recorded five sacks in 15 starts with the Chiefs.

With the Broncos, Clark will likely serve as a rotational pass rusher behind projected starters Randy Gregory and Baron Browning. Clark’s competition for snaps this season will include Jonathon Cooper and Nik Bonitto.

Once the Clark signing becomes official, Denver will have to make a corresponding move to make room for him on the roster.

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Khalen Saunders visits White House with his former Chiefs teammates

Khalen Saunders missed Saints practice on Tuesday to visit the White House with his former Chiefs teammates. Let’s hope he returns with the Saints next year:

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While his New Orleans Saints teammates were enjoying a productive day of practice back home, Khalen Saunders was catching up with old friends and glad handing dignitaries at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He and many of his former Kansas City Chiefs teammates accepted an invitation to visit the White House as reigning Super Bowl champions, where they were recognized for their achievements by President Joe Biden.

Saunders shared photos and anecdotes from the visit on his social media profiles, including an impressive selfie taken in front of a portrait of former President John Tyler (Saunders noted that, “To be completely honest I had no idea who that is,”) and a shot of his old teammate Frank Clark dozing in a viewing gallery facing the Washington Monument.

It’s unclear if Ugo Amadi also was in attendance; the Saints safety ended the 2022 season on the Chiefs practice squad and won a championship ring just like everyone else on their team, and he enjoyed himself at a celebratory parade in Kansas City after the Super Bowl. Like Saunders, he also wasn’t in attendance for Saints practice this week, so maybe he made the trip to Washington, D.C., as well. Let’s hope they’re both returning with the Saints this time next year as back-to-back Super Bowl champs.

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10 remaining free-agent pass rushers the Panthers could still sign

With Leonard Floyd now off the market, here’s an updated look at the league’s most notable free-agent pass rushers.

On Monday morning, outside linebacker Leonard Floyd and the Buffalo Bills came to terms on a one-year deal—much to the dismay of Carolina Panthers fans. But the market isn’t closed yet, folks.

Here are 10 remaining free-agent pass rushers the Panthers could sign.

Bleacher Report says Saints should sign free agent DE Frank Clark

Bleacher Report says the New Orleans Saints should sign free agent defensive end Frank Clark:

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Are the New Orleans Saints set at defensive end? There’s no question that the group has a lot to prove, but at the same time the Saints have kind of boxed themselves into a corner. Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson are playing on lucrative extensions, while Tanoh Kpassagnon signed an extension earlier this spring. Highly-drafted players like Payton Turner and Isaiah Foskey need snaps, and they’ve rounded out the group by bringing in depth pieces Jabari Zuniga and Niko Lalos from the XFL.

But there might be room for one more on top of the depth chart, putting someone like Turner or Kpassagnon on the trade block when it comes time for roster cuts in September. Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton suggested the Saints pursue former Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark as the missing piece for their pass-rush unit, writing:

At 29 years old, Frank Clark is on the back end of his prime years, but he could help a pass rush and make plays in the backfield.

During the 2022 regular season, he registered 39 tackles, eight for loss, five sacks and 24 pressures. In the Kansas City Chiefs’ three playoff outings en route to a Super Bowl victory, he recorded seven tackles, three for loss and 2.5 sacks.

With Jordan and Clark on the edges, the Saints could significantly boost a defensive unit that finished with the fourth-lowest pressure rate (17.5 percent) last season.

Clark is a controversial player. He’s notorious among Chiefs fans for coasting through the regular season before playing with greater effort in December and January, and that’s reflected in his productivity scores — he’s rightfully seen as one of the most-effective postseason pass rushers of all time. If he’s willing to play on a reduced role at an appropriate salary, this might make sense, but it wouldn’t be wise of the Saints to sideline younger, hungry players for a past-his-prime veteran right out of the gate.

And that doesn’t get into his off-the-field issues. Clark is actively serving probation following firearm violations in Los Angeles last summer. He has a history of legal issues running back to his college days, when he was dismissed from Michigan’s program following domestic violence allegations in 2014 and an arrest on home invasion felony charges in 2012. NFL teams aren’t expected to be moral authorities, and head coach Dennis Allen made his stance on that clear by pursuing Deshaun Watson so heavily last year and bringing in Jon Gruden as a consultant last week, but there’s a big difference between overlooking someone’s mistake and accepting a pattern of poor decisions.

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11 remaining free-agent pass rushers the Panthers could still sign

Top 11 pass rushers who remain unsigned heading into June

For all the Carolina Panthers have done this offseason, they still have a lack of firepower off the edge. And although the likes of Yetur Gross-Matos and Marquis Haynes Sr. might grow into their newer roles over the summer, Brian Burns remains without a certifiable pass-rushing partner in the middle of the defense.

So, if the Panthers are still keeping tabs on that market, here’s what the top of it currently looks like . . .

Chiefs DT Chris Jones recruiting DE Frank Clark, DT Mike Pennel back to Kansas City

Chris Jones took to Twitter to recruit a pair of former teammates back to the #Chiefs. | from @EdEastonJr

The NFL offseason has already seen plenty of movement in free agency, with old faces moving to new places. The Kansas City Chiefs have added more players while parting ways with key players from last season’s Super Bowl LVII-winning team.

One of the biggest names let go by the Chiefs to start the offseason was veteran defensive lineman Frank Clark, who was a mainstay defensively for the Chiefs over the last four seasons. He often played his best football during the postseason and had a penchant for stepping up in the most critical moments. Injuries and off-the-field issues had become a distraction in the latter part of his Chiefs’ tenure, making him and his cap hit expandable in the front office’s eyes.

Clark’s former teammate Chris Jones appears to be pushing for a reunion, appealing to Clark in his latest tweets. The All-Pro defensive tackle tagged Clark directly to recruit him for next season.

Clark wasn’t the only target on Jones’ mind, as he tweeted a similar message for veteran DT Mike Pennel. The 33-year-old spent last season with the Chicago Bears but was teammates with Jones on the Chiefs in 2019 and 2020. Pennel played in all 17 games for the Bears, where he tallied 26 total tackles and a forced fumble.

The Chiefs haven’t formally acknowledged any efforts to recruit either Clark or Pennel, but anything is possible. The team never closed the door on a reunion with Clark when they released him earlier in the offseason. Carlos Dunlap was a late signing last year as training camp was underway, so adding a trusted veteran at some point before the season can never be ruled out.

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3 former Seahawks named among best remaining free agents

Three former Seahawks players made the cut.

With the 2023 NFL draft now in the rearview mirror, teams only have one way to improve their rosters before the start of the season: hitting up free agency. Seattle is well represented on that market right now. Doug Farrar at Touchdown Wire has published a list of the top available free agents and three former Seahawks players made the cut.

10 best remaining free agents the Eagles could target after NFL draft

The 2023 NFL draft is complete, and Philadelphia’s roster is stacked, but we’re looking at the10 best remaining free agents the Eagles could target

The 2023 NFL draft is in the books, and Philadelphia Eagles have welcomed five new drafted rookies to the roster while working to sign an undrafted free agent class.

Now, the third wave of free agency is underway, and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has an opportunity to address some positions that still need attention following the draft.

Philadelphia is stacked on both sides of the football but could look for depth at edge rusher, punter, tight end, and linebacker.

With the draft complete, all free-agent signings will no longer count against the compensatory formula, so we could start seeing some teams making moves.

Here’s a look at some of the best available free agents the Eagles could target in this third wave of free agency:

11 unsigned free agents who can help teams with the 2023 NFL Draft over

With the draft over, these experienced players can still help some teams.

The 2023 NFL Draft is over, and soon it’ll be time to hunker down for the summer for the entire league.

But, with the acquisition period officially a thing of the past, once every team takes stock of what they have rostered, they’ll be looking to fill in the gaps wherever they can. And trust me, as much as there’s a lot of awesome undrafted free-agent talent out there, sometimes you can’t rely on youth as much as you want. Experience wins out, especially for those guys who already know what it’s like to battle against legitimate NFL competition.

Here are 11 unsigned (and useful!) NFL veterans who can still help teams now that the 2023 NFL Draft is in the books.

4 still-available free agent DEs 49ers should target

It’s late in the free agency period, but there are still some players available who can help the 49ers:

The 49ers needed to add some defensive end help in free agency, and they made a pair of FA signings, but that room could still use some help.

They added Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant, but they’re both unproven players. They’re projects the 49ers are hoping they can develop into starter-quality defensive linemen. It’s worked in the past, but it’s also a tenuous place to put perhaps the most important defensive position. The team is also banking on second-year DE Drake Jackson breaking out.

It would behoove them to add a proven edge rusher they can rely on should their projects not work out. They cannot go into a year where they’re relying solely on Nick Bosa to generate pressure off the edge. Arik Armstead and newly-added Javon Hargrave will do some of the work pushing the pocket, but edge pressure matters.

There are still a handful of free agent pass rushers who can help the 49ers and perhaps help oversee the development of a couple of the other DEs on the roster.

Here are four free agents San Francisco could target to help bolster their depth at DE: