Deon Broomfield

South Notes: Tannehill, Texans, Falcons

The refrain during the final several weeks of the Titans‘ season pointed to either a Ryan Tannehill extension or franchise tag. But the resurgent team may not be entirely committed to the ex-Dolphin yet. The Titans have not decided Tannehill is worth a $27MM franchise tag or a franchise QB-level salary, Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com note. Tannehill is open to a long-term Titans deal, and the sides began discussing an extension late in the season. After the quarterback’s surprising stretch to help the team to the AFC title game, it would be surprising if he were allowed to hit the market. But the Titans do have Derrick Henry as a franchise tag candidate and four-year right tackle starter Jack Conklin set for free agency as well. The Titans have some major decisions to make in the next few weeks. Teams can use their franchise and transition tags this year, if there is no new CBA in place by the time the tag window opens February 25. Teams have from Feb. 25-March 10 to apply tags.

Here is the latest from the South divisions:

  • Among their free agents, Austin Hooper appears to be the Falcons‘ top priority. De’Vondre Campbell is on the team’s re-up radar as well. Vic Beasley‘s future in Atlanta is less certain. The former first-round pick earned All-Pro acclaim in 2016 but fell off the radar for years after that dominant season. “Well, Vic played at a different level in the back half of the year than the first half of the year,” Arthur Blank said, via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. “What changed for him, I’m not exactly sure. And whether or not we can have that kind of consistency with him when it matters, only time will tell.” A trade candidate at the deadline, Beasley finished with four sacks in his final four games to record eight this season.
  • Falcons safety Ricardo Allen underwent shoulder surgery recently, Jason Butt of The Athletic tweets. The veteran defender played through a shoulder malady late in the season. He will require a multiple-month rehab process, which could delay his participation in the Falcons’ offseason program.
  • The Texans added multiple staffers to lower-level positions, bringing in Deon Broomfield as a defensive assistant and DeNarius McGhee as a quality control coach, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Broomfield coached cornerbacks at Indiana State for the past three years, while McGee coached quarterbacks and running backs at Montana State in that span.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/28/15

Today’s minor moves and signings..

  • The Bills cut Deon Broomfield from injured reserve, Wilson tweets.
  • The Browns announced that they have signed offensive lineman Erle Ladson while waiving defensive back Micah Pellerin, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal tweets.
  • The Panthers waived running back Darrin Reaves, who saw a good amount of playing time last season as the Panthers had issues with their backfield, ESPN.com’s David Newton writes. Meanwhile, Carolina inked tackles Tony Hills and Davonte Wallace.

Earlier Updates:

  • Bengals wide receiver James Wright has been released with a waived/injured designation, according to Coley Harvey of ESPN.com (on Twitter). If he isn’t claimed tomorrow, he’ll be placed on the Bengals’ IR for the season.
  • The Cowboys released running back Ryan Williams, linebacker Cameron Lawrence, and offensive lineman Ryan Miller while signing running back Gus Johnson, offensive lineman Ronald Patrick, and linebacker Justin Anderson, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Cardinals placed wide receiver Damond Powell on the reserve/NFI list, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com tweets. The move creates a place for tight end Jermaine Gresham on the 90-man roster.
  • The Jets announced that they have released kicker Andrew Furney. That move will create room for the addition of wide receiver Austin Hill, who was picked up yesterday. Furney was signed by the Jets last offseason as an undrafted free agent out of Washington State to compete with Nick Folk during the ’14 training camp. He signed a reserve/future contract to return to the Jets last Dec. 30.
  • The Bears signed defensive lineman David Carter to a one-year deal, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Tribune tweets. To make room, linebacker Jonathan Brown has been waived.

Minor Moves: Wednesday

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves from around the NFL, with any additional transactions added to the top of the list throughout the evening:

  • Bills defensive back Deon Broomfield has reverted to the reserve-injured list after being waived-injured and going unclaimed, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter). Broomfield was waived on Tuesday to make room for defensive tackle Andre Fluellen.
  • The Raiders cut former Michigan receiver Jeremy Gallon from IR, Wilson tweets. Gallon joined Oakland on a reserve deal in December.
  • Having been waived yesterday with an injured designation after suffering a torn ACL, tight end Zach Sudfeld went unclaimed and reverted to the Jets‘ injured reserve list today, tweets Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com.

Earlier updates:

  • The Panthers have signed former Chiefs guard Ricky Henry, waiving center Ronald Patrick to create room, the team announced today (via Twitter). Henry spent the 2014 season on Kansas City’s practice squad before signing a futures contract with the team and being waived last month.
  • The Steelers have also made a minor change on their offensive line, signing interior lineman Collin Rahrig and waiving tackle Micah Hatchie with an injured designation, per Burt Lauten (Twitter link). Rahrig initially tried out for Pittsburgh after the draft in May.
  • Back-of-the-roster players often find themselves being frequently signed and waived during the regular season, as teams shuffle their regular season rosters, but that back and forth is happening for running back Rasheed Williams during the offseason. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter), the Lions cut Williams again today. It’s the second time Williams has been let go by the club since first being signed as an undrafted free agent last month.

Bills Sign Andre Fluellen

The Bills have added some veteran depth on their defensive line, signing free agent defensive tackle Andre Fluellen, the team announced today in a press release. To make room on the roster for Fluellen, the team waived safety Deon Broomfield with an injured designation.

Fluellen, 30, has spent nearly all of his career with the Lions since being drafted by the team in the third round back in 2008. However, he has never played a significant role in Detroit, acting as a part-time contributor over the course of 77 career games (75 with Detroit). In 2014, Fluellen recorded 10 tackles, two sacks, and a fumble recovery in 183 defensive snaps.

With Rex Ryan in as head coach and Dennis Thurman as defensive coordinator, there’s no real coaching connection for Fluellen in Buffalo. Of course, Thurman replaced Jim Schwartz as DC earlier this year, and Schwartz had coached the veteran defender in Detroit.

As for Broomfield, he appears likely to be placed on the Bills’ injured reserve list if he clears waivers.

Bills Sign 10 To Reserve/Futures Contracts

Today is the first day that teams can begin signing players who didn’t finish the regular season on an NFL roster to reserve/futures contracts for the 2015 season, and the Bills have locked up 10 such players, according to a team release.

Here’s the full list of the players to ink futures deals with the team. Of these 10 players, all but one finished the year on the Bills’ practice squad:

Defensive end Ike Igbinosun was the only player to finish the season on Buffalo’s taxi squad and not receive a futures contract from the team. Meanwhile, Holley was the only one to sign a deal after not being on the practice squad, though he spent time earlier in the season on the unit before being placed on the injured list.

For a refresher on how reserve/futures contracts work, be sure to check out our glossary entry.

Sunday/Monday Transactions: AFC East

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC East 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 East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Buffalo Bills:

Miami Dolphins:

New England Patriots:

New York Jets:

Bills Sign Colton Schmidt, Cut T.J. Graham, Others

The Bills have signed punter Colton Schmidt, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Schmidt, a California-Davis product, has also spent time with the 49ers. Additionally, the team announced it has trimmed its roster to 53 by cutting the following 10 players:

Bills Sign 10 Undrafted Free Agents

THURSDAY, 3:30pm: The Bills have added Minnesota defensive back Michael Carter to their undrafted free agent class, tweets Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550AM.

TUESDAY, 12:23pm: The Bills have signed nine undrafted free agents, the team announced today on its website. All nine of the newest Bills are defensive players. Here’s the full list:

  • Derek Brim, S, Buffalo
  • Deon Broomfield, S, Iowa State
  • James Gaines, LB, Miami (FL)
  • Damien Jacobs, DT, Florida
  • Bryan Johnson, LB, West Texas A&M
  • Darrin Kitchens, LB, Florida
  • Kenny Ladler, S, Vanderbilt
  • Darius Robinson, CB, Clemson
  • Colby Way, DL, Buffalo