After a quick break to watch Butch Jones keep Tennessee fans from calling for his head for at least a week, I’m back to with the final installment of my NFL Holiday Weekend Wrap Up.
-Could Sebastian Janikowski’s time in Oakland be coming to an end before the Raiders actually leave the city? It’s possible A back injury has hampered the veteran kicker so much this preseason that the team is actively working out other kickers. According to Ian Rappaport of the NFL Network, Josh Lambo was the most impressive of the three that came in to take his job.
Janikowski, if the remains on the Raiders’ roster, will be entering his 18th year in the league since everyone and their dog made fun of them for picking him in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft (at No. 17, no less) out of Florida State. Last season Janikowski hit 82.9 percent of his kicks and was 37-of-39 on extra points.
#Raiders are concerned about Sebastian Janikowski’s back, with his age. He’s been slow to bounce back. Josh Lambo stood out among tryouts
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 5, 2017
Janikowski is due to make $4.41 million this season. If the Raiders do cut him, he’ll only count $360,000 in dead cap money.
-The Houston Texans are set to host the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium in Houston next Sunday and according to the team, that’s exactly what they’ll do. While an early college football game was moved from NRG and a preseason game was cancelled, there will be no changes to the NFL schedule.
Hopkins: "I didn't want to play anywhere else but Houston."
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 4, 2017
The Jaguars did offer to switch home dates because of the aftermath from Hurricane Harvey, but Houston wants to roll on and play.
-Safety J.J. Wilcox was traded, along with a seventh round pick, to the Pittsburgh Steelers Monday after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed free agent T.J. Ward. In return, the Steelers shipped the Buccaneers their 2018 sixth round pick. The Bucs signed Wilcox as a free agent this off-season after he spent the last four years with the Dallas Cowboys. In 2016, Wilcox started four games, played in 13 and recorded 45 tackles, one forced fumble, six passes defended and one interception.
-The Dallas Cowboys acquired linebacker Jayrone Elliott from the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a conditional draft choice. Elliott has never started, but has appeared in 38 games over the last three seasons since the Packers signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Toledo. Last year he appeared in 11 games and recorded 12 tackles and one sack.
That wasn’t the only move the Cowboys made. In a trade with the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas added depth to their defensive backfield, adding cornerback Bene’ Benwikere in exchange for a 2019 conditional sixth round draft pick.
https://twitter.com/_Suade/status/904026830302101505
Benwikere was a fifth round pick for the Bengals back in 2014. He was hurt most of last season, but started and played in four games, recording 10 tackles, four passes defended and one interception.
-Wide Receiver Harry Douglas will begin the season in injured reserve for the Tennessee Titans. With the open roster spot, the Titans re-signed the recently cut Eric Weems. Weems spent most of his 10 year career with the Atlanta Falcons as a return specialist and even made the Pro Bowl in 2010. He appeared in all 16 games last season, averaging 11.4 yards per punt return and 23 yards per kick return. He caught one pass for 11 yards and rushed one time for four yards.
-The Washington Redskins have placed safety Su’a Cravens on the exempt/left squad list. Cravens is dealing with a knee injury and is expected to miss the first month of the season. That is if he doesn’t retire, which is apparently on the table.
“It’s shocking, but it is what it is,” safety D.J. Swearinger told the Washington Post. “He (Cravens) has got to handle what he needs to handle, whether it’s mental, whether it’s family. We’re here to support him, but that’s something tough. I’m not in those shoes so I can’t speak on it. I’m praying for him and hope he’ll be back.”
#Redskins safety Su'a Cravens is the latest example of how society's broad perception of athletes is outdated https://t.co/YqEiFQF27m
— Master (@MasterTes) September 4, 2017
Cravens was a second round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft out of USC. He started three games last season and played in 11, recording 33 tackles, one sack, five passes defended and one interception.
-T.J. McDonald might be suspended for the beginning of the season, but the Miami Dolphins have seen enough of their new hard hitting safety to want to keep him around. Over the weekend Miami inked McDonaled to a new, four year, $24 million contract with $10 million guaranteed.
It’s a monster deal for a guy who is suspended for the first eight games of the season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
Despite upcoming eight-game suspension, Dolphins were impressed w/TJ McDonald's play and how he handled the situation, wanted him long term.
— James Walker (@JamesWalkerNFL) September 2, 2017
McDonald was originally drafted by the then St. Louis Rams in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He started all four seasons with the Rams. Last year he had 62 tackles, one sack, six passes defended and two interceptions.
-I guess Martavis Bryant was right about JuJu Smith-Schuster taking Sammie Coates’ job. The Steelers traded Coates to the Cleveland Browns over the weekend in exchange for a seventh round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Coates was a third round pick out of Auburn in the 2015 draft. Last year he caught 21 passes for 435 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 20.7 yards per catch.
The Browns also added preseason star Kasen Williams, who was just cut from the Seattle Seahawks. The 6-2, 219 pound wide receiver was an undrafted free agent out of Washington. With the Huskies last season, he caught 20 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns but looked a hell of a lot more productive than that on the field this preseason.
Kasen Williams would have had to walk on water to make the team if that preseason wasn't enough.
— Joe Veyera (@JoeVeyera) September 2, 2017
Michael Jordan, the highest rated cornerback of the preseason, will also get another shot at an NFL career with the Browns after getting cut by the Rams. Jordan played in five games last season and started two for the Rams. He recorded 20 tackles, one fumble recovery and two passes defended.
-Rookie quarterback Brad Kaaya wasn’t out of work long after getting cut by the Detroit Lions. The Lions drafted Kaaya in the sixth round out of Miami back in April. He was one of my top ranked quarterbacks coming out in the draft this past year after completing 62 percent of his passes for 3,532 yards, 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions for the Hurricanes as a junior. Kaaya will be the No. 3 QB behind Cam Newton and Derek Anderson.
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