Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter is on the move ahead of Sunday afternoon’s deadline to set 53-man rosters around the league.
According to multiple reports, the Bears have agreed to trade Dexter to the Falcons. Cornerback Clark Phillips and a fifth-round pick will head back to Chicago.
Dexter was a 2023 second-round pick by the Bears. He started all 19 games that the Bears played last season and had 48 tackles, six sacks and two fumble recoveries. Grady Jarrett, Neville Gallimore, Kentavius Street, James Lynch, and sixth-round pick Jordan van den Berg remain on the depth chart as options on the interior.
The Falcons added Phillips as a 2023 fourth-rounder and he played in 27 games in his first two seasons, but he only played in one game last year due to a triceps injury. He was vying for a backup role in Atlanta.
The Falcons have started making moves ahead of Sunday’s deadline to cut their roster to 53 players.
The NFL’s daily transaction report for Saturday shows that they parted ways with 10 players. They also placed defensive back Darren Hall on injured reserve.
Defensive lineman Eric Johnson, linebacker Channing Tindall, and offensive lineman Brandon Walton were all released and will not be subject to waiver claims from the rest of the teams in the league.
Wide receiver Keelan Marion, tight end Josh Simon, offensive lineman Jaeden Roberts, offensive lineman Andrew Stueber, defensive lineman Devonnsha Maxwell, linebacker Daveren Rayner, and defensive back Keidron Smith are going to be on the waiver wire.
The Browns know what they’ll be doing as to the top two quarterbacks on the depth chart. As to the other two, decision time is coming.
Coach Todd Monken acknowledged after Thursday’s preseason finale that, as to Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green, “We can’t keep everybody.”
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, after some cuts were already made, Monken was asked whether the team is still grappling with the quarterback issue at the bottom of the depth chart.
“Somewhat,” Monken said. “Like a lot of players, we don’t want to lose any good players that have a future with the Browns, so we’ve still got some discussions to have. But I was very impressed with both Dillon and Taylen. Both did it differently, but Dillon’s at least played. He’s played last year, he’s gotten more reps than Taylen, so he looked like it, and he obviously operated very well. Taylen did the things we thought he would do, which was make some plays with his feet, and there were no issues in terms of the operation.”
The issue is whether to keep either or neither on the roster, with the outside chance of keeping all four. Both Gabriel and Green would be exposed to waivers if released with the idea of signing them to the practice squad.
Gabriel, who had a near-perfect passer rating against the Patriots of 157.9 with three touchdown passes on 15 throws, could be traded. And the most obvious destination would be Atlanta, where former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has a potential none-of-the-above situation as Week 1 approaches.
The Browns still have time to figure it out. But not much. As of this posting, the deadline to get to 53 is less than 28 hours away.
Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa returned to Miami on Friday night, for a preseason game. The crowd of Dolphins fans gave him an earful of boos.
Did he hear it?
“Well, of course I did,” Tagovailoa told reporters after the game. “But, you know, needless to say, like, being able to come back here, like, I’ve had six years here, and those are probably some of the best six years of my life, being able to, you know, play for Miami, being able to be in front of the crowd.
“You know, I mean, [I] had a Pro Bowl here, like, had a good amount of accolades. So, regardless of the reaction, like, I mean, I love the city. We have a home out here. Like, we still have our house and whatnot. But, I mean, it is what it is. You know, I can’t change any of what they did and whatnot, but, you know, it was really cool to see a lot of the guys after the game, and then, you know, talk to some of the guys during the game. So it was a cool homecoming, if you will.”
Tua won’t return to Miami during the regular season. The more immediate question is whether he’ll be the quarterback when the regular season begins in 16 days with a trip to Pittsburgh — the site of his final start as the Miami quarterback.
The Falcons still haven’t named a starter for their Week 1 game at Pittsburgh, even though Michael Penix Jr. only recently received clearance to participate in team drills after his latest ACL tear.
On Friday night, Tua Tagovailoa got the start in the preseason finale at Miami. Although the assembled Dolphins fans booed him, his current head coach offered a more favorable assessment.
“I thought Tua did a nice job operating,” Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters after the game. “Obviously, [he] moved the football there for a couple drives, plenty to clean up. You know, unavoidable center-quarterback exchange, which we have to clean that up. And we will. But I thought, by and large, operated.”
The center-quarterback exchange to which Stefanski referred resulted in a fumble, which the Dolphins recovered.
For the night, Tua completed seven of eight passes for 95 yards. In three first-quarter drives, he led the Falcons to a touchdown.
“Tua’s a pro,” Stefanski said. “I thought he handled the game really well. You know, there’s a lot of emotion that comes when you come back into a place that you’ve been before, and he compartmentalized it, and, you know, other than being on an opposite sideline, I thought he really did a nice job of handling all of it.”
Whether that’s enough to make him the starter to start the season remains to be seen. If he’s getting the assignment, he hasn’t been given it yet.
