Danny Aiken

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/31/15

For the final time in 2015, let’s take a look at the today’s minor transactions from around the NFL:

  • With Johnny Manziel banged up, the Browns announced that they’ve signed fellow quarterback Pat Devlin, who spent the final preseason game of 2015 on Cleveland’s roster. Austin Davis will start Sunday’s contest as Manziel deals with a concussion, and Devlin will presumably act as the backup. Linebacker Jayson DiManche was waived in a corresponding move.
  • The Giants announced that they’ve placed linebacker J.T. Thomas (ankle) and long snapper Danny Aiken (thumb) on injured reserve, ending both their seasons. In their stead, New York has elevated linebacker Nico Johnson from its practice squad, while signing free agent long snapper Tyler Ott.

Giants Place Larry Donnell, Zak DeOssie On IR

As the Giants attempt to push for the NFC East division crown over the last four weeks of the 2015 season, the team will be without one of its offensive playmakers, as well as a key special-teamer. The team announced today that it has placed tight end Larry Donnell and long snapper Zak DeOssie on the injured reserve list, ending their seasons. Donnell suffered a neck injury last month, while DeOssie is battling a wrist injury.

Donnell, who hasn’t seen the field since going down on November 1, grabbed 29 balls for 223 yards and two touchdowns in eight games this season. It’s not clear whether his neck injury is one that will affect his career in the long term, but there always appeared to be little chance he’d get back on the field this season. Today’s move confirms that.

DeOssie, meanwhile, is one of the Giants’ longest-tenured players, having served as the team’s long snapper since being drafted in the fourth round in 2007. A two-time Pro Bowler, and one of the club’s captains, the 31-year-old had never missed a game due to injury until now. DeOssie is a free agent at season’s end, but I’d expect the two sides to work out a deal to keep him in New York going forward.

Replacing Donnell and DeOssie on the Giants’ 53-man roster are cornerback Tramain Jacobs and long snapper Danny Aiken. Jacobs had been on the club’s practice squad, while Aiken recently landed back on the free agent market after being cut by the Panthers.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/15

Here are Friday’s minor transactions, including signings and cuts, from around the NFL:

  • The Steelers have released veteran running back Isaiah Pead and elevated running back Fitzgerald Toussaint from their practice squad, tweets Missi Matthews of Steelers.com. Pead, who started the season with the Rams, was cut and then signed with Pittsburgh earlier this month when Le’Veon Bell was placed on IR. However, the 25-year-old didn’t see any action for the Steelers.
  • The Patriots opened up a spot on their 53-man roster today by waiving linebacker Eric Martin, says Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Doug Kyed of NESN.com reports (via Twitter) that the Pats are adding tight end Asante Cleveland to their active roster from the practice squad, though that move might not become official until Saturday.
  • Having officially placed cornerback Chris Culliver to the injured reserve list today due to his torn ACL/MCL, Washington has promoted another cornerback, Dashaun Phillips, to its 53-man roster, the team announced in a press release.
  • Prior to Thursday’s game against the Cowboys, the Panthers signed long snapper Danny Aiken as an insurance policy in case starter J.J. Jansen was unable to go. Jansen played against Dallas, and Carolina cut Aiken today, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/25/15

The Ravens will activate defensive end Brent Urban off of the IR-DTR list, as Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com tweets. It still hasn’t been determined whether he will play against the Browns on Monday, however. Urban, 24, was selected in the fourth round of the 2014 draft by the Ravens, but missed his entire rookie campaign with a torn ACL. The Virginia product sustained a torn bicep this year, but Baltimore liked him enough to use its only IR-DTR slot on him back in September.

Here are the rest of Wednesday’s minor signings, cuts, and other moves from around the NFL:

  • The Saints are set to sign cornerback Chris Owens to the 53-man roster, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Owens, who turns 29 on Tuesday, played in 11 games for the Chiefs last season.
  • The Raiders will promote wide receiver/return man Jeremy Ross from the practice squad to the active roster, a source tells Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter).
  • The Panthers have signed long snapper Danny Aiken, as Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer tweets. Aiken will give Carolina an option as they wait to learn more about J.J. Jansen‘s availability.

Workout Notes: 9/30/15

Today’s workouts from around the NFL..

Patriots Re-Sign Danny Aiken, Chris White

The Patriots have officially re-signed long snapper Danny Aiken and linebacker Chris White to their 53-man roster, the team announced today in a press release. The team had initially parted ways with Aiken on Saturday while trimming their roster from 75 to 53, and then cut White on Sunday to make room on the active roster for waiver claims.

Aiken, 26, has been the Patriots’ long snapper for the last three seasons, and figures to continue on in that role in 2014, despite having been shuffled on and off the roster in the last week. As for White, he didn’t have a role on New England’s defense a year ago, but contributed on special teams, logging five tackles in kick and punt coverage.

No corresponding moves will be necessary for the Pats, since the team cut defensive tackles Bruce Gaston and Kelcy Quarles from its roster yesterday. After removing long snapper Charley Hughlett from their practice squad yesterday, the Pats have also filled that 10th and final spot today, re-signing quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson.

West Notes: Miller, Seahawks, Broncos, Rams

Broncos star Von Miller became the latest player to weigh in on J.J. Watt‘s megadeal and he thinks the Texans got away light. “He’s underpaid in my opinion. What he does for the Texans, no one else does that for their organization,” Miller said, according to Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today Sports. “None of the big-time quarterbacks that are getting the big-time deals do. J.J. Watt deserves a similar deal. He does everything on the field, everything off the field. It was well deserved. I think he should have gotten more.” Of course, given Miller’s off-the-field troubles, it’s hard to say what Watt’s deal means for the Denver standout. More out of the AFC and NFC West..

  • On the eve of their season opener, the Seahawks haven’t given up hope of working out contract extensions with Cliff Avril and/or K.J. Wright, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). La Canfora writes that they’re “exploring options” with both, so agreements aren’t necessarily imminent.
  • The Broncos tried out long snappers Danny Aiken and Luke Ingram before picking up Kevin McDermott, according to Howard Balzer of USA Today (on Twitter).
  • Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (on Twitter) wonders if the Rams would have claimed Ryan Griffin if he were available instead of Case Keenum. St. Louis signed Keenum on Monday. Griffin, meanwhile, is back with the Saints on a practice squad deal.
  • Allen Bradford, Drew Nowak and David Arkin visited with the Seahawks, tweets Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun.

Patriots Cut Bruce Gaston, Kelcy Quarles

The Patriots have parted ways with two players they claimed off waivers over the weekend, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com, who tweets that defensive tackles Bruce Gaston and Kelcy Quarles have been cut by the team. The moves should leave New England with a pair of open roster spots, so I’d expect corresponding signings to be announced soon.

Gaston was dropped by the Cardinals as part of final roster cutdowns on Saturday, while Quarles was let go by the Giants. Both players will return to waivers today, and if they go unclaimed this time around, they’ll be free to sign with any club or practice squad. It wouldn’t be a surprise if one or both players ended up returning to the teams with whom they spent training camp, though both Arizona and New York have full practice squads at the moment.

As for the Patriots’ own practice squad, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets that the team has removed long snapper Charley Hughlett. According to Reiss (via Twitter), former Pats long snapper Danny Aiken is back in Massachusetts after visiting the Broncos, and there’s a strong possibility he rejoins New England.

Patriots Notes: FA Tryouts, Worthy, Mallett

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.

Patriots Cut Boyce, Worthy, Others

4:03pm: The Pats have announced three more cuts, in a press release:

The team’s official website now lists the team’s active roster at 55 players, so we’ll have to wait and see if there are another pair of announcements today. Presumably, the last two players removed from the roster will be Brandon Browner and Brian Tyms, who will be placed on the reserve-suspended list.

1:50pm: The Patriots continue to make moves, as they’ve cut three more players:

  • James Morris (LB) (via Young on Twitter): Placed on injured reserve
  • Eathyn Manumaleuna (DL) (via Young on Twitter)
  • Chris Martin (OL) (via Young on Twitter)

11:42am: The Patriots have released 14 players this afternoon, including a player they acquired only two weeks and a fourth-rounder from 2013. The list is below: