Miami Dolphins sign the Jacksonville Jaguars star as the Opening Days draw closer but unfortunately…
The Miami Dolphins signed defensive back Siran Neal on Wednesday, the NFL team announced.
Neal had played for the Buffalo Bills for all six of his NFL seasons. But he became a free agent on March 6 when the Bills sliced about $26 million from their salary-cap obligations for the 2024 season by releasing five players, including Neal.
Neal had one season remaining on a three-year, $9 million contract extension signed in 2022 shortly before he was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent.
Terms of Neal’s new contract have not been disclosed, but it has been reported as a one-year deal.
Neal came aboard in Miami as Dolphins cornerback Justin Bethel became an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday afternoon. Bethel led Miami with 318 special-teams plays in 2023. Neal had 342 special-teams plays for Buffalo in 2023.
Since Neal entered the NFL as a fifth-round draft selection from Jacksonville State in 2018, only three players in the league have more special-teams plays with one team than his 1,714 in regular-season play with the Bills.
He also played 567 defensive snaps in 97 regular-season games. Neal played in 10 postseason games with Buffalo, too.
In his six NFL seasons, Neal has missed two games.
Neal earned honorable-mention All-State recognition as a wide receiver at Abbeville High School in 2011. In 2012, he was first-team All-State in the athlete slot at Eufaula High School.
Neal concentrated on cornerback at Jacksonville State, where he played in the 2015 NCAA FCS championship game and earned a spot on the 2017 American Football Coaches Association’s NCAA FCS All-American team.
Calvin Ridley has signed a massive deal in free agency, and he is leaving for a surprising team.
Ridley is joining the Tennessee Titans on a 4-year, $92 million deal that includes $50 million guaranteed. Most of the talk was that Ridley would either return to the Jacksonville Jaguars or possibly head to the Patriots. But the Titans came out of nowhere and snagged the receiver.
Ridley was a first-round pick by the Falcons in 2018. He started off his career strong with over 800 receiving yards in each of his first two seasons, while scoring 17 touchdowns those years. Then in 2020 he broke out with 90 catches for 1,374 yards and 9 touchdowns.
But Ridley missed most of the 2021 season after stepping away due to mental health reasons. And then he was suspended the entire 2022 season for a gambling violation.
Last year with Jacksonville, Ridley reminded fans of what he can do. He had 76 catches for 1,016 yards and 8 TDs with the Jags. Ridley went over 100 yards in both games against the Titans, which may have stuck with Tennessee GM Ran Carthon.
The Titans now have another receiving option to join Treylon Burks and DeAndre Hopkins as the team moves away from Derrick Henry as their offense’s focal point.
