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Brandon Meriweather

Giants Re-Sign Brandon Meriweather

December 23rd, 2015 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

Less than a week after cutting him loose, the Giants have re-signed veteran safety Brandon Meriweather to their 53-man roster, the team announced today in a press release. In a corresponding move, the club officially placed fullback Nikita Whitlock on injured reserve, as was previously reported.

Meriweather, a starting safety for the Giants’ first 11 games, had been inactive during his last two weeks before his release, as he dealt with a knee issue. However, he should be healthy now, considering the Giants cut him without an injury designation, and have now re-signed him. The 31-year-old had 53 tackles and a pair of interceptions for New York this season.

Giants safety Cooper Taylor suffered a concussion during the club’s 38-35 loss to the Panthers on Sunday, leaving just two healthy safeties on the roster, so it makes sense that New York would want to add some depth at the position. And, of course, Meriweather is a logical fit, considering his familiarity with Steve Spagnuolo‘s system.

Extra Points: Bucs, Bills, LA, Cowboys, Pryor

December 17th, 2015 at 9:51pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The latest from around the NFL as Thursday wraps up:

  • Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht is enamored with rookie quarterback Jameis Winston. “I wouldn’t trade him for another quarterback in the league,” Licht said, per Jeff Darlington of NFL.com. Licht stated he expected more growing pains and perhaps as many as 30 interceptions this year from Winston, but the ex-Florida State star and No. 1 pick in this year’s draft entered Thursday with only 11 in 13 games.
  • The Bills are in wait-and-see mode when it comes to the long-term status of signal caller Tyrod Taylor, but if they give him a new contract, it could end up being their most important transaction over the next several years, opines Sal Maiorana of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Taylor, who has been one of the top statistical QBs in the league this year, will be a free agent after next season. If he acquits himself well again in 2016 and the Bills wait until the season’s over try to lock him up, he could either sign a sizable deal elsewhere or stay in Buffalo and take up a large portion of its cap. For his part, Taylor says he isn’t focused on anything other than this season. “I have three important games. I don’t have time to talk about contract situations.”
  • With as many as two of the Rams, Raiders and Chargers potentially relocating to Los Angeles at season’s end, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk examined where exactly the teams could call home starting next year. Multiple league sources believe the Chargers are the likeliest of the three teams to end up in LA, per Florio.
  • Cowboys quarterback Kellen Moore took “a couple” first-team practice reps this week, head coach Jason Garrett said. That’s a sign his first NFL action could be approaching, Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes. With the Cowboys out of contention and Matt Cassel having performed poorly in place of the injured Tony Romo, giving Moore a shot before the year’s out would seem to make sense. Dallas signed Moore, 26, to its practice squad in November and added him to its active roster earlier this month. The fourth-year man has never taken a regular-season snap since going undrafted out of Boise State in 2012.
  • Browns receiver Terrelle Pryor, formerly a quarterback, made his regular-season debut at wideout last week and played 16 snaps. Quarterback Johnny Manziel didn’t target Pryor, but that could change this week because Pryor will get more playing time, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports.
  • Veteran safety Brandon Meriweather, whom the Giants cut Wednesday, went through waivers unclaimed and is now a free agent, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

Giants Sign Barry Cofield, Cut Brandon Meriweather

December 17th, 2015 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 9:13am: The Giants have officially signed Cofield, the team announced today in a press release.

WEDNESDAY, 2:15pm: The Giants are making a change on defense, signing one veteran player while cutting another, according to reports. Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets that New York is waiving safety Brandon Meriweather, while ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that defensive tackle Barry Cofield will fill the newly-created opening on the roster.

Cofield, who started his career with the Giants, suffered his first major injury in 2014, as he missed about half the season after an ankle injury forced him onto the injured reserve list with the designation to return. While the defensive lineman returned to action for Washington in November, he only started three of eight games for the season, marking the first time since 2007 that he appeared in a game he didn’t start.

The 31-year-old underwent offseason hip surgery, which kept him on the free agent market for longer than expected, but it appears the Giants liked what they saw of Cofield during an early-December workout, resulting in him landing an NFL job.

Meriweather, a starting safety for the Giants’ first 11 games, has been inactive during the last two weeks as he deals with a knee issue. The 31-year-old, who is currently ranked 67th by Pro Football Focus out of 86 qualified safeties, had 53 tackles and a pair of interceptions for New York this season. Based on the official announcement from the Giants, it doesn’t appear that Meriweather was cut with an injury designation.

Extra Points: Weddle, Chancellor, Brady

August 19th, 2015 at 10:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Adam Jones will probably go down as one of those “what-if” history stories in sports and the Bengals cornerback is well aware of that. “If I would have never gotten suspended, I would have $100 million right now,” Jones said, according to Coley Harvey of ESPN.com. Still, Jones says that he tries not to live with regrets and that he hopes to make the most of the remainder of his career. Here’s more from around the NFL..

  • Eric Weddle‘s agent David Canter confirmed (via Twitter links) that he would like to see the Chargers safety land with the Dolphins. However, he made it clear that he and Weddle “have never and will never ask for a trade from San Diego.” Teams typically don’t trade their best players, Canter notes, and he says that Bolts fans can rest assured that he won’t be going anywhere, at least in 2015.
  • Agent Alvin Keels told ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (on Twitter) that everything is status quo with his client, Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor. “Nothing has changed. He will not report without his contract being addressed this season. The team and I have been in contact, but we haven’t been able to agree on any compromise,” Keels said.
  • Right now, there are no more settlement talks planned between the NFL and NFLPA until the August 31st court appearance, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Brandon Meriweather‘s deal with the Giants is a one-year pact worth $870K and no guaranteed cash, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
  • During practice Sunday, Raiders‘ WR Andre Holmes fractured his hand and now is expected to be out 3-4 weeks, sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).
  • New Jets quarterback Matt Flynn says that there’s no timetable on when he’ll recover from his hamstring issue and added that he is not guaranteed a roster spot with Gang Green, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Guard-center Josh Samuda, former Dolphin and Viking, worked out today for the Chiefs, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).

Giants Sign Brandon Meriweather

August 16th, 2015 at 4:48pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Giants have signed veteran safety Brandon Meriweather, the club announced. To create a roster spot, New York waived kicker Chris Boswell. The team also announced that it has placed rookie safety Mykkele Thompson on injured reserve.

The Giants had been on the hunt for help in the secondary after injuries to both Thompson and fellow safety Landon Collins. While Collins’ injury isn’t considered as serious as Thompson’s, Collins’ MCL sprain could keep him out for a few weeks, and perhaps the rest of the preseason. At the very least, Meriweather’s presence will give New York some experienced depth while Collins begins his recovery.

Meriweather, 31, had spent the past three season in Washington, where he appeared in 10 games last season. He posted 36 tackles on the season, but was placed on injured reserve in December after suffering a toe injury. The Miami alum was selected in the first round of the 2007 draft by the Patriots, and has also spent time with the Bears. I’d be surprised if Meriweather’s Giants contract was anything more than a minimum salary benefit deal, with little to no guaranteed money.

Because Thompson is not a vested veteran, he’ll continue to count against the Giants’ 90-man roster because he is not a vested veteran.

NFC Notes: Bucs, Peterson, Washington

April 19th, 2015 at 12:44pm CST by Rory Parks

We rounded up some AFC links earlier this morning, so let’s have a look at a few notes from the NFC.

  • Although the Glazer family has never meddled in the Buccaneers‘ personnel decisions to the same degree Jerry Jones has meddled with the Cowboys, Tampa Bay’s ownership has a tradition of assuming a powerful role in the team’s football operations at key moments. According to Ira Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune, the Glazers have been very active in deciding what the Bucs should do with their No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.
  • The Vikings would want at least a second-rounder and a late-round pick for Adrian Peterson, writes Ben Goessling of ESPN.com, who does not expect the team to lower its asking price just to move Peterson.
  • The Lions will likely wait until after the draft to address their left guard spot, and when they do, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com expects the team to add a veteran at the position.
  • John Mullin of CSNChicago.com writes that, with each signing the Bears make, the job security of those already on the roster becomes more uncertain. That is especially true on the defensive side of the ball, where Chicago has added two linebackers and is moving a 2014 defensive end back to outside linebacker. That means the three Game 16 starters of last season, Jonathan Bostic, Christian Jones, and Shea McClellin, are competing for one vacancy.
  • Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders if the Rams will select a quarterback in this year’s draft, noting that if they do, they better strike early.
  • Rich Tandler and Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com examine Washington‘s depth chart at quarterback. El-Bashir believes the team will draft a signal-caller, which will leave Colt McCoy and Kirk Cousins fighting for one job.
  • John Keim of ESPN.com does not believe Washington will bring back Tyler Polumbus or Brandon Meriweather, and he would not be surprised if the team drafted Marcus Mariota if the former Oregon signal-caller is still available when Washington is on the clock.
  • Dan Graziano of ESPNNewYork.com writes that, in a perfect world, there would be a clear-cut option at pass-rusher for the Giants to select with their No. 9 overall pick. The problem is that most of the premium pass rushers, outside of perhaps Bud Dupree, look more like 3-4 outside linebackers than 4-3 defensive ends. As such, the team may end up with one of this year’s top offensive lineman, like Brandon Scherff or Ereck Flowers.

Washington To Put Brandon Meriweather On IR

December 19th, 2014 at 3:14pm CST by Rob DiRe

Washington hasn’t had great safety play this season, but it will likely suffer another hit now that the team has placed Brandon Meriweather on injured reserve, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Twitter).

The team has signed linebacker Steve Beauharnais off the practice squad and added him to the 53-man roster, according to Zac Boyer of the Washington Times (via Twitter).

Meriweather will miss the last two games of the season with a sprained toe, although he has been trying to push through the injury for the past three weeks. Even still, he has tried to participate in drills but could barely jog due to the injury, writes Mike Jones of the Washington Post (via Twitter).

NFC Mailbags: Fitzgerald, Suh, Murray

October 4th, 2014 at 10:43am CST by Ben Levine

It’s Saturday morning, and that means a fresh batch of NFL mailbags from ESPN’s writers. Let’s start off with notes from the NFC…

Redskins Waive Bacarri Rambo

September 16th, 2014 at 8:52am CST by Luke Adams

The Redskins have waived safety Bacarri Rambo, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter). A roster move along those lines had been expected, since veteran safety Brandon Meriweather can return from his two-game suspension this week, and the team needed to make room for him on its 53-man roster.

Rambo, a sixth-round pick in the 2013 draft, made three starts for Washington last year, and saw significant action in Week 1 of this season in Meriweather’s absence. However, over the course of the 72 defensive snaps this season, he recorded a -2.7 grade, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), in large part due to his involvement on two plays — DeAndre Hopkins‘ 76-yard touchdown for the Texans in Week 1 and Marcedes Lewis‘ 63-yard score for the Jags this past Sunday.

Despite Rambo’s early-season struggles, the team has invested enough time in him over the last two seasons that I’d be surprised if he departs Washington entirely. The second-year safety still has practice-squad eligibility, so it’s possible we’ll see him land on Washington’s taxi squad, assuming he clears waivers.

Brandon Meriweather Suspended Two Games

August 25th, 2014 at 5:05pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The NFL has suspended Redskins safety Brandon Meriweather for the first two games of the 2014 for repeatedly violating player safety rules, according to Randall Liu, the director of NFC football communications (via Twitter). Per Liu, this is Meriweather’s sixth violation of the safety policy; the latest offense was a hit on Ravens receiver Torrey Smith, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. According to NFL Executive VP of Football Operations Troy Vincent, Meriweather “made no attempt to make a conventional tackle” on Smith (Twitter link via Zac Boyer of the Washington Times).

Meriweather has the right to appeal, but if he fails, he will miss Washington’s games against the Texans and Jaguars. According to Brian McIntryre (Twitter link), the ban will cost Meriweather 2/17 of his $855K base salary, which amounts to a little over $100K. Boyer tweets that Meriweather will not be allowed to have any contact with the Redskins from September 1 to September 15.

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