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Jeff Mathews

Minor Moves: Monday

December 15th, 2014 at 7:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Monday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, including practice squad signings and cuts, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:

  • Washington cut Chase Minnifield from injured reserve, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (via Twitter). Minnifield had been on IR ever since suffering a concussion in November.
  • Tight end Gerell Robinson has received a promotion in Miami, as the Dolphins added him to their 53-man roster from the practice squad (Twitter link). To accommodate the move, tight end Gator Hoskins has been cut.
  • The Rams have filled one of their two practice squad openings by signing defensive lineman Doug Worthington, per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link).
  • The Colts have promoted cornerback Sheldon Price from their practice squad to their active roster, the team announced today in a press release. To make room for Price, the club waived tackle Andrew McDonald.

Earlier updates:

  • Although it appeared last month that cornerback Robert Alford would return this season after suffering a broken wrist, Falcons head coach Mike Smith confirmed today that Alford will have surgery on that wrist and is being placed on the team’s injured reserve list, tweets D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
  • The Panthers have made a change on their defensive line, parting ways with defensive tackle Micanor Regis and signing fellow defensive tackle Kyle Love to take his place on their 53-man roster, according to the team (Twitter link). Carolina also re-added defensive end Frank Alexander to its roster following his suspension — the club receives a week-long roster exemption for Alexander, so nobody needs to be cut to accommodate him quite yet (Twitter link).
  • As expected, in the wake of Drew Stanton‘s knee injury, the Cardinals have added a quarterback to their practice squad for emergency purposes. According to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter), the team has added former Cornell signal-caller Jeff Mathews to its taxi squad, cutting linebacker Kion Wilson to create space.

Extra Points: Vikes, NFLPA, Browns, Seahawks

October 31st, 2014 at 10:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Let’s look at the latest from around the league…

  • Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters earlier today that the club had worked out three quarterbacks, and now we’ve learned their identities. Per Howard Balzer (on Twitter), Minnesota auditioned Pat Devlin, Jeff Mathews, and Brad Sorensen. None of the trio has ever been active for an NFL game. As PFR’s Luke Adams noted this afternoon, the Vikes could be looking for a replacement for practice squad QB Chandler Harnish, who is injured.
  • Former defensive tackle Sean Gilbert is the primary competitor to DeMaurice Smith in the race for the NFLPA’s executive director position, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Gilbert, who played from 1992-2003, not only wants to expand the regular season to 18 games, but is in favor of ripping up the 2011 CBA and negotiating anew with the league. The election will be held in March.
  • Rookie corner K’Waun Williams has played in six games this season, starting one, and performed well, quite the feat for an undrafted free agent. Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer tells the story of how Browns secondary coach Jeff Hafley, who first recruited Williams to the University of Pittsburgh, pushed for Cleveland to sign the 23-year-old after the draft.
  • Paul Richardson could be one beneficiary of the Seahawks’ decision to trade Percy Harvin, as Jayson Jenks of the Seattle Times writes that the rookie reciever is attempting to become the deep threat for the Hawks’ offense.

AFC East Notes: Graham, Dolphins, Jordan

September 17th, 2014 at 5:58pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier this week, Bills cornerback Corey Graham went one-on-one with Peter King of The MMQB to discuss all things Buffalo, from the roster to the team staying in Western New York. The corner was born and raised in Buffalo, so he couldn’t be happier with his current situation. “To play for the team I grew up loving, that doesn’t really happen often. You rarely get those type of opportunities. I know for many people they may not feel Buffalo is the type of place you want to go play, but for me it was like a dream come true to have that opportunity,” Graham said. More out of the AFC East..

  • Wes Welker and others have had their suspensions reduced, but that won’t be the case for Dion Jordan of the Dolphins, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter). Jordan’s positive test for stimulants came before March 11th, which means he still has to serve a four-game suspension.
  • The Dolphins tried out Jeff Mathews, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter). The 23-year-old Cornell product joined the Colts’ practice squad on August 31st but is apparently keeping his options open. Mathews also worked out for the Packers before hooking on with Indianapolis.
  • The Jets worked out Michael Preston, according to Wilson (Twitter link). The Titans cut Preston loose in late August and while he auditioned for the Dolphins earlier this month, he didn’t find a home in the 305. The 25-year-old has spent the last three seasons with the Titans and has ten receptions to his credit over the last two campaigns.

NFC Links: Boone, Packers, Spillman, Wright

August 31st, 2014 at 10:42pm CST by Ben Levine

Let’s take a look at some extra notes out of the NFC on this Sunday evening…

  • ESPN’s Ed Werder notes (via Twitter) that the $2MM added to Alex Boone‘s deal with the 49ers means the player is guaranteed no franchise or transition designation when his contract expires.
  • The Packers currently have a pair of backup quarterbacks for Aaron Rodgers in Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien. That hasn’t prevented the team from auditioning other quarterbacks, as ESPN’s Field Yates tweets that the team worked out Jeff Mathews, Pat Devlin and Jon Jennings earlier today.
  • Former 49ers special teams ace C.J. Spillman is on his way to Dallas to presumably sign with the Cowboys, tweets NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.
  • Rapoport also (via Twitter) predicts that safety Major Wright, who was cut by the Buccaneers yesterday, will be on an NFL roster by the start of the season.
  • Lache Seastrunk was informed at the last minute that he wouldn’t be added to the Redskins practice squad, tweets The Washington Post’s Mike Jones. The team cited that they wanted to go in a “different direction.”

Sunday Transactions: AFC South

August 31st, 2014 at 7:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC South teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s AFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Houston Texans:

Indianapolis Colts:

Jacksonville Jaguars:

  • Claimed off waivers: Mickey Shuler, TE (via Ryan O’Halloran on Twitter)
  • Cut: Marcel Jensen, TE (via Aaron Wilson on Twitter)
  • Signed to practice squad (officially announced): Cody Booth, T; DeAndre Coleman, DT; Henry Josey, RB (via Adam Caplan on Twitter); Craig Loston, S; Stephen Morris, QB; Kerry Taylor, WR; Tony Washington, WR; Marcus Whitfield, LB. The team has also added cornerback Peyton Thompson, reports Michael DiRocco (via Twitter), although the team has not officially announced the signing.

Tennessee Titans:

Patriots Notes: FA Tryouts, Worthy, Mallett

August 30th, 2014 at 8:03pm CST by Ben Levine

The Patriots were busy today trimming their roster down to 53 players. However, the team was still actively scouting the free agent market, and ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss reports that 12 players were actually in for tryouts:

Let’s check out some more notes out of New England…

  • Since Jerel Worthy failed to make the Patriots roster, the team doesn’t owe the Packers a draft pick, explains ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky. The Patriots acquired Worthy from the Packers earlier this month for a conditional seventh-rounder.
  • The Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe tweets that the Cowboys could be a landing spot for quarterback Ryan Mallett. The writer also suggests that the Texans and Rams could get involved.
  • The Patriots won’t be provided with any additional cap relief since Isaac Sopoaga failed to make the Cardinals roster, tweets Howe.
  • Following the release of Danny Aiken, the Patriots don’t have a long snapper on the roster. As the Boston Globe’s Shalise Manza Young notes (via Twitter), if the team doesn’t carry a long snapper, it would be the first time they’ve gone without one during Bill Belichick‘s tenure.

Falcons Sign 20 Undrafted Free Agents

May 12th, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Falcons are the latest team to make their undrafted free agent class official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed 20 new rookies to contracts. Here’s the complete list:

  • Geraldo Boldewijn, WR, Boise State
  • Brenden Daley, LB, Hawaii
  • Nosa Eguae, DE, Auburn
  • Devonta Glover-Wright, CB, Utah State
  • Maurice Hagens, FB, Miami (FL)
  • Julian Jones, WR, Arkansas State
  • Freddie Martino, WR, North Greenville
  • Jeff Mathews, QB, Cornell
  • Walker May, OLB, Vanderbilt
  • Kimario McFadden, S, South Carolina State
  • Roosevelt Nix, FB, Kent State ($15K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Jacob Pedersen, TE, Wisconsin
  • Bernard Reedy, WR, Toledo
  • Donte Rumph, DT, Kentucky
  • Jacques Smith, OLB, Tennessee
  • Jerome Smith, RB, Syracuse
  • James Stone, C, Tennessee
  • Tramaine Thompson, WR, Kansas State
  • Brian Wozniak, TE, Wisconsin
  • Matt Yoklic, P, Pittsburgh