Cliff Matthews - Pro Football Rumors

Falcons Sign DL Malliciah Goodman

December 6th, 2016 at 7:36pm CST by Dallas Robinson

After putting him through a workout earlier today, the Falcons have signed free agent defensive lineman Malliciah Goodman, the club announced. Atlanta also announced that is has promoted offensive lineman Kevin Graf from the practice squad, and waived defensive lineman Cliff Matthews and offensive lineman Trevor Robinson.

The Falcons were reportedly on the hunt for a defensive end after Adrian Clayborn suffered an MCL injury that could shelve him for the rest of the regular season. In Goodman, they’ve reunited with a player that spent time in Atlanta from 2013-15 after being selected as a fourth-round draft choice. Goodman, 26, has spent most of this season on the audition circuit, but he did play in one game for Seattle last month. Now he’ll settle in behind Tyson Jackson, Brooks Reed, and Courtney Upshaw at defensive end for the Falcons.

Like Goodman, Matthews had posted two separate stints with Atlanta, re-signing with the club this October after a brief tenure with the Buccaneers. He’s appeared in 35 games during his four-year career, mostly serving as a special teams player during that time. Robinson, meanwhile, is a former 13-game starter at center for the Chargers, and had just landed a contract with the Falcons a week ago.

Falcons Cut S Dashon Goldson

October 19th, 2016 at 11:42am CST by Zachary Links

The Falcons announced that they have released safety Dashon Goldson. To fill his spot on the roster, Atlanta signed defensive lineman Cliff Matthews. The team also inked linebacker Josh Keyes to the practice squad.

Goldson, 32, signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Falcons, though only $250K of that sum was guaranteed. This year, he suited up for four games, but did not record an official statistic. The veteran has regressed significantly since his glory days with the 49ers. Goldson broke out as a leading free safety in 2009 with San Francisco and went on to earn his first career Pro Bowl nod in 2011. In 2012, his contract year, he garnered another Pro Bowl selection along with his first career First-Team All-Pro nod.

He signed a monster contract with the Bucs in the spring of 2013, but he was unable to deliver. After spending 2015 with the Redskins and old friend Scot McCloughan, Goldson returned to the NFC South. Today, he finds himself back on the open market.

Matthews broke into the league as a seventh-round pick of the Falcons in 2011. The South Carolina product has appeared in 32 games for Atlanta since then.

Workout Notes: Cards, Lions, Browns, Bears

September 16th, 2016 at 6:22pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Friday’s workouts from around the NFL:

The Cardinals auditioned a pair of offensive linemen, guard Vlad Ducasse and tackle Garry Williams, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (on Twitter). Ducasse is the more experienced of the two, having made 78 appearances and 22 starts since the Jets drafted him in the second round in 2010. Ducasse totaled a career-high 11 starts with Chicago last season. Williams has played far fewer games than Ducasse (41), but he has made just one fewer start (21). The 30-year-old’s latest action came in 2014, though, and he hasn’t appeared in more than one game in a season since 2012. Williams spent the first five years of his career with the Panthers.
The Lions tried out two offensive tackles – Sam Young and Laurence Gibson – and defensive tackle Cliff Matthews, tweets Caplan. Young, a sixth-round pick in 2010, has amassed a combined 58 appearances and 13 starts with the Cowboys, Bills and Jaguars. He suited up in all 16 games last season for the first time. The Falcons chose Matthews in the seventh round of the 2011 draft, and he ultimately appeared in 32 games with Atlanta from 2012-14.
The Browns worked out offensive lineman Mike Leidtke, as agent Brett Tessler tweets. Liedtke, an Illinois State product, auditioned for New Orleans last week.
Punter A.J. Hughes tried out for the Bears, according to Caplan (Twitter link).

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Buccaneers Down To 53 Man Roster

September 2nd, 2016 at 11:27am CST by Zachary Links

The Buccaneers have trimmed down to 53 with more than 24 hours to go before the deadline. According to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times, the following players have been dropped from the roster:

CB Javien Elliott
LB Luke Rhodes
TE Dan Vitale
DT Cliff Matthews
S Kimario McFadden
RB Russell Hansbrough
WR Bernard Reedy (waived/injured, per Jenna Laine of ESPN.com on Twitter)
LB Josh Keyes
LB Jeremiah George
LB Micah Awe
C Ben Gottschalk
RB Peyton Barber
WR Kenny Bell (injured)
WR Freddie Martino
WR Jonathan Krause
OL Josh Allen
OL Kelvin Palmer
OL Kyler Kerbyson
DE Kourtnei Brown
DE A.J. Francis
DE Isaiah Johnson
TE Kivon Cartwright (injured)

Among the cuts, Vitale’s is one of the most surprising. The Bucs are planning on carrying five tight ends, yet the sixth-round pick out of Northwestern apparently did not show enough to make the cut. The Bucs will have Cameron Brate, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Luke Stocker, Brandon Myers, and UDFA Alan Cross on the roster to open up the season instead. Myers and Cross were both considered to be on the bubble somewhat, but they have impressed Dirk Koetter & Co. to the point where they are going to carry five tight ends and bounce a sixth-round pick in order to keep both of them. Myers was inactive for the Bucs’ final five games of 2015 as a healthy scratch.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/5/16

February 5th, 2016 at 7:29pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The NFL offseason hasn’t yet officially begun, but clubs are still making small moves as they wait for the beginning of the new league year. Let’s dive into the latest:

The Buccaneers have signed four players to reserve/futures deals, inking defensive tackle Davon Coleman, defensive tackle Cliff Matthews, defensive end Jermauria Rasco, and receiver Bernard Reedy, the club announced. Matthews, 26, has the most experience of the bunch, having played in 32 games over the past three seasons with the Falcons (former Atlanta head coach Mike Smith, notably, is Tampa Bay’s new defensive coordinator).
Former Lions running back Mikel Leshoure is back in professional football, but it’s with the CFL as opposed to the NFL. The 25-year-old Leshoure has signed with the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League, reports Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (link). A former second-round pick, Leshoure’s best season came in 2012, when he ran for nearly 800 yards and nine touchdowns with Detroit.

Workout Notes: Jets, Brown, Chargers, Lions

September 29th, 2015 at 6:29pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets auditioned running back Bryce Brown on Tuesday, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Brown has showed flashes of promise in the past, but he was unable to stick with the Bills in 2015. The Bills traded a 2015 fourth-round pick to the Eagles to acquire Brown before the start of last season and that’s a deal that GM Doug Whaley probably wouldn’t make again. In 2014, Brown ran for a grand total of 126 yards off of 36 carries.

Here’s a rundown of other notable workouts from around the NFL..

As we noted earlier today, the Patriots worked out former Broncos running back Montee Ball and the Steelers took a look at Terrelle Pryor.
Former Jets defensive lineman Jordan Williams worked out for the Lions today, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
Former Browns outside linebacker Mike Reilly worked out for the Chargers on Tuesday, a league source tells Wilson (on Twitter).
With defensive tackle Will Sutton’s expected to miss a short period of time following a left biceps injury, the Bears brought in four linemen for a tryout on Tuesday, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune writes. According to an NFL source, veterans DeAngelo Tyson, Cliff Matthews, D’Anthony Smith, and Greg Scruggs were worked out. The Bears also put running back George Atkinson III, a former Notre Dame player, through a workout.
The Jets worked out former Giants fullback Henry Hynoski today, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (via Twitter).
In addition to Ball, the Patriots auditioned tight end Brandon Bostick, quarterback Zac Dysert, tight end Brian Leonhardt, former Panthers running back Darrin Reaves, and tight end Konrad Reuland, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.
Defensive end/outside linebacker Lawrence Sidbury auditioned for the Lions on Tuesday, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
The Rams have auditioned a ton of wide receivers lately, as Wilson tweets. Issac Blakeney, Kain Colter, DaVaris Daniels, Jordan Leslie, Tyler Rutenbeck, and Corey Washington were among the wide receivers to audition for St. Louis. Nick Toon, who was also a part of those tryouts, inked a practice squad deal with St. Louis this week.
The Panthers auditioned three punters on Tuesday, including ex-Bears punter Adam Podlesh, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). Spencer Lanning and Kasey Redfern also auditioned, Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer tweets.
The Chargers auditioned center J.D. Walton and guard Joe Looney, according to Howard Balzer of USA Today Sports (on Twitter).

Falcons Waive Six, Roster Down to 68

September 5th, 2015 at 8:48am CST by Ben Levine

The Falcons cut a pair of quarterbacks yesterday in Rex Grossman and T.J. Yates, but that wasn’t the end of the organization’s moves. Atlanta’s website announced that the team had waived six other players:

S Sean Baker
LB Terrell Manning
T Jake Rodgers
G Jared Smith
CB Kevin White
DE Cliff Matthews

The Falcons roster is now down to 68 players. The team acquired Andy Levitre from the Titans yesterday, requiring them to cut an additional player.

Falcons Extend DiMarco, Matthews

February 26th, 2015 at 7:40am CST by Dallas Robinson

THURSDAY, 7:40am: Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com passes along contract details for Matthews and DiMarco, noting that both players signed two-year deals with minimum salaries in each season. DiMarco’s new pact includes a $75K signing bonus.

TUESDAY, 1:45pm: The Falcons have gotten a jump on free agency by agreeing to contract extensions with two role players, fullback Patrick DiMarco and defensive end Cliff Matthews, the club announced in a press release. Both players signed multi-year deals, adds D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta also announced that it has signed free agent receiver Nick Williams.

DiMarco, 25, has been with the Falcons since 2013, having previously spent time with the Chiefs and Chargers. During his two years in Atlanta, he’s started 14 games, catching 17 passes for 111 yards and one score. DiMarco saw 214 snaps last season, but graded out negatively according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). He’s currently the only fullback on the Falcons’ roster.

Matthews saw even fewer snaps than DiMarco in 2014 (116), but he was an important factor on special teams, where he added three tackles. Like DiMarco, Matthews is a South Carolina alum — the latter was originally selected by Atlanta in the sixth round of the 2011 draft. Earlier today, we heard the Falcons were still evaluating which players fit their new scheme before making any transactions, so it seems like they’ve determined Matthews could mesh with new head coach Dan Quinn’s unit.

Williams, meanwhile, went undrafted in 2013 out of UConn, and went on to sign with Washington. He played in five games during his rookie season, acting as both a receiver and return man. His value in Atlanta will likely come on special teams duty.