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Emory Blake

Davis, Jones Among Rams’ Final Cuts

September 5th, 2015 at 10:01pm CST by Sam Robinson

Thought to have the upper hand in the Rams’ center competition, Barrett Jones was one of St. Louis’ roster cuts as it trimmed to 53 players (according to Myles Simmons of the team’s website).

Tim Barnes and Demetrius Rhaney ended up sticking on the roster due to having better positional versatility than Jones, an Alabama product who the Rams took in the fourth round in 2013, per ESPN.com’s Nick Waggoner.

An undrafted free agent in 2011, Barnes is listed as the Rams’ starting snapper.

The Rams also waived Austin Davis, who started eight games for the team last season in Sam Bradford‘s absence. Davis threw for over 2,000 yards and completed 63.4% of his passes in his first game sample.

Here are the rest of the Rams’ cuts:

  • Alex Bayer, TE
  • Emory Blake, WR
  • Malcolm Brown, RB
  • Christian Bryant, S
  • Justice Cunningham, TE
  • Marcus Fortson, DT
  • Montell Garner, CB
  • Jacob Hagen, S
  • Martin Ifedi, DE
  • Zach Laskey, FB
  • Matt Longacre, DE
  • Marshall McFadden, LB
  • Brandon McGee, CB
  • Trovon Reed, CB
  • Daniel Rodriguez, WR
  • Louis Trinca-Pasat, DT
  • Brandon Washington, OL

Rams Sign Seven To Futures Contracts

December 30th, 2014 at 5:27pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, the Rams announced that they have signed seven players to reserve/futures contracts. Here’s the full list, courtesy of USA Today’s Howard Balzer (on Twitter)..

All seven of the signees above were previously on St. Louis’ practice squad. Two members of the Rams’ taxi squad, defensive tackle Matt Conrath and tight end Brad Smelley, were not signed.

Rams Promote Washington, Sign Williams

October 29th, 2014 at 2:54pm CST by Zachary Links

2:54pm: The Rams have made a few more moves, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that Williams has indeed been added to the active roster, with cornerback Jemea Thomas waived to make room. Additionally, the team has cut wideout Kadron Boone from its practice squad and added offensive lineman Travis Bond.

12:04pm: The Rams have promoted offensive lineman Brandon Washington to the active roster, a league source tells Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). In addition to that, the Rams have added wide receiver Emory Blake, offensive tackle Steven Baker, and tight end Justice Cunningham to the practice squad, as Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com tweets.

Washington was one of the final cuts made before the 53-man deadline in late August and was added to the taxi squad soon after. The 6’3″, 320 pound lineman has one game of NFL experience on his resume.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Rams appear poised to continue with just four wide receivers on the active roster. Earlier today, Wagoner tweeted that if and when the Rams add a wide receiver to the active roster, it will be former Dolphins WR Damian Williams. St. Louis recently lost Brian Quick, who was placed on IR, for the year as he was in the midst of a breakout campaign.

Minor Moves: Monday

October 20th, 2014 at 9:11pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll keep tabs on today’s minor transactions from around the NFL right here, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:

  • The Seahawks have signed former Northern Iowa linebacker L.J. Fort to their practice squad, according to NFL Draft Diamonds. The signing has been confirmed by Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter). Fort, who has spent time with the Browns, auditioned for the Jaguars and Titans this offseason after missing the Broncos’ final cut.
  • Dolphins defensive end Dion Jordan has been reinstated from his six-game suspension, according to Howard Balzer (Twitter link). Jordan, the third overall pick in the 2013 draft, will have a one-week roster exemption.

Earlier updates:

  • The Broncos have promoted running back Kapri Bibbs to the active roster, tweets Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com. As Legwold adds (via Twitter), several teams were interested in signing away Bibbs. Denver now has five RBs on its 53-man roster.
  • The following players have been cut by their respective teams, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun: Broncos linebacker Shaquil Barrett (Twitter link), Browns defensive lineman Jacobbi McDaniel (Twitter link), Saints linebacker Todd Davis (Twitter link), and Titans tight end Brett Brackett (Twitter link).
  • The Jaguars have promoted defensive end Chris Smith from their practice squad to their 53-man roster, says Wilson (via Twitter). Moving Paul Posluszny to injured reserve opened up a spot for Smith.
  • Wilson also tweets that the Saints have signed tight end Tom Crabtree, placing defensive end Glenn Foster on injured reserve in order to make room on the roster.
  • The Rams have released wideout Emory Blake from their practice squad, tweets Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com.
  • The Dolphins are signing wideout LaRon Byrd to their practice squad, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Miami had been carrying nine players on its unit, so no corresponding move will be required.
  • Ravens head coach John Harbaugh confirmed today that long snapper Morgan Cox has been placed on injured reserve after tearing his ACL during yesterday’s game, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. As first reported by Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter), the club has signed long snapper Kevin McDermott to replace Cox. Earlier today, Wilson had tweeted that the Ravens were working out McDermott and fellow long snapper Patrick Scales.
  • On the heels of a loss in which they failed to run the ball effectively, the Browns have waived fullback Ray Agnew, the team announced today (Twitter link). An undrafted free agent, Agnew signed with the team in May and had two carries and two catches in his six games as a Brown. Fellow fullback Kiero Small has been promoted from Cleveland’s practice squad to take Agnew’s place on the roster.

Rams Waive Austin Pettis

October 20th, 2014 at 5:36pm CST by Luke Adams

5:36pm: The Rams cut Pettis after he was late to a meeting on Saturday, reports Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (via Twitter). A league source confirms the same news to ESPN.com’s Nick Wagoner (via Twitter), who adds that practice squad receiver Emory Blake, who was also cut today, was late to the same meeting.

4:40pm: The Rams have parted ways with wide receiver Austin Pettis, placing him on waivers today, according to Brian McIntyre (Twitter link). Assuming Pettis goes unclaimed, he’ll be free to sign with any team as of tomorrow afternoon.

A third-round pick in 2011, Pettis has caught 107 balls for 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns since joining the Rams, seeing fairly consistent snaps for the club but failing to develop until a bona-fide starter. His roster spot appeared to be in jeopardy earlier this season, but he and the Rams reworked his contract, reducing his base salary and allowing him to stay with the team. Seven weeks into the season though, the club has decided to let him go.

The move opens up a spot on the 53-man roster for the Rams, who could opt to sign an outside free agent or promote one of their practice squad players.

Practice Squad Updates: Monday

September 1st, 2014 at 6:33pm CST by Luke Adams

We rounded up the first wave of practice squad additions in a series of posts by division yesterday, which you can check out on our Transactions page. Several more teams have announced new practice squad players today, or made slight changes to their units, so we’ll round up that news right here:

6:33pm:

  • The 49ers have filled out their practice squad by adding cornerback Chance Casey and running back Kendall Gaskins, the team announced in a press release.

4:37pm:

  • The Browns have added wide receiver Charles Johnson and offensive lineman Karim Barton to their practice squad, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Twitter).
  • Cornerback Khalid Wooten will be the 10th man on the Titans‘ practice squad, tweets Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.

4:07pm:

  • The Seahawks have added defensive end Julius Warmsley and defensive back Josh Aubrey to their practice squad, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.
  • The Redskins have finalized their practice squad by adding safety Akeem Davis and linebacker Chaz Sutton, the club announced today (Twitter link).
  • Cornerback LeQuan Lewis has been added to the Jets‘ practice squad, according to the team (via Twitter).

2:46pm:

  • The Rams have finalized their practice squad by adding linebacker Denicos Allen, wideout Emory Blake, safety Christian Bryant, and quarterback Garrett Gilbert, per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). That means Michael Sam isn’t among the 10 players on St. Louis’ squad.
  • The addition of Henry Josey to the Jaguars‘ practice squad has officially been announced by the team in a press release. We had noted below that although his signing had been previously reported, Josey wasn’t among the first list of names released by the club.
  • The Ravens have announced the signing of offensive lineman Marcel Jones to their practice squad, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.

1:31pm:

  • The following players are now on the Browns‘ practice squad: James Brown, OL; Jacobbi McDaniel, DL; Emmanuel Ogbuehi, TE; Keith Pough, LB; Justin Staples, LB; and Patrick Lewis, C. The first five names are listed on the team’s official site, while the addition of Lewis was reported by Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • Alex Gillett‘s time on the Packers‘ practice squad didn’t last long — he was replaced today by cornerback Jumal Rolle, tweets Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
  • The Buccaneers have signed safety Kimario McFadden, cornerback Derrius Brooks, and linebacker Carlos Fields to their practice squad, according to the team’s official site.
  • Katherine Terrell of the New Orleans Times-Picayune provides the last few names to be added to the Saints‘ practice squad: safety Pierre Warren, guard Antoine McClain, nose tackle Lawrence Virgil, and tight end Nic Jacobs.
  • The Eagles have signed quarterback G.J. Kinne for their practice squad, per the team’s official site.
  • Fullback Nikita Whitlock is the latest addition to the Cowboys‘ practice squad, the team announced today.
  • The Vikings filled the final spot on their practice squad by adding cornerback Chris Greenwood, says Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
  • Defensive end Zach Thompson is now on the Broncos‘ practice squad, according to the club.
  • The Chiefs filled the final opening on their practice squad by signing defensive tackle Hebron Fangupo, reports Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter).
  • Wide receiver Freddie Martino and tight end Kyle Miller have joined the Falcons‘ practice squad, per the team’s official site.
  • One more housekeeping note: Yesterday, running back Henry Josey and fullback Kiero Small were reported as having joined the Jaguars‘ and Browns‘ practice squads, respectively. However, when those teams announced their PS rosters, those players weren’t included. There haven’t been any reports indicating those agreements fell through, so we’ll keep an eye on both situations. For now though, we won’t be including those players in our master list of practice squad rosters, which will be published this afternoon.

Rams Start Trimming Roster Down To 53

August 29th, 2014 at 10:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has been tweeting out the details on the Rams’ first wave of final cuts this afternoon, as the team has now parted ways with five players from its 75-man roster. Here, via Thomas, are the players cut by St. Louis so far, with any further cuts added to the list throughout the day: