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North Notes: Pettine, Fangio, Lions, Workouts

December 31st, 2015 at 1:24pm CST by Luke Adams

With one game left in the 2015 season, Browns head coach Mike Pettine predictably faced a round of questions from reporters today about his job security in Cleveland. According to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter links), Pettine said that he wants to finish out his contract with the Browns and then some, and stressed the importance of continuity when asked about the future of general manager Ray Farmer.

Still, while Pettine was mostly optimistic – or at least hopeful – about the future in Cleveland, he acknowledged that if he’s retained for the 2016 season, he probably will have to make some changes to his coaching staff (Twitter link via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com).

Having had his usual Monday meeting with Jimmy Haslam this week, Pettine didn’t ask the Browns owner about his job security, so we’ll likely have to wait a few more days to know what Haslam is thinking for 2016 (Twitter link via Cabot). In the meantime, here are some more items from out of the NFL’s North divisions:

  • Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio interviewed a year ago for the 49ers’ head coaching job before the team hired Jim Tomsula, and as another offseason approaches, he’d be willing to listen again to a team that wants to interview him. “If the right opportunity and people were interested, yeah, I’d certainly listen,” Fangio said, per Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com. “But like I’ve always said, these are their jobs and they [other teams] have their minds set on what they want. If I happened to fit that mold and what they’re looking for, that would be great.”
  • The first thing that consultant Ernie Accorsi noticed after starting to work with the Lions as they search for a general manager? Owner Martha Ford wants to win, and she wants to win now. Johnette Howard of ESPN.com has the story.
  • The Steelers are bringing in former Cardinals quarterback Phillip Sims for an audition today, per NFL Draft Diamonds (Twitter link). Pittsburgh may have its eye on Sims for an offseason contract.
  • Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle has the latest on a couple more North teams auditioning players, tweeting that the Vikings are trying out defensive back Dexter McCoil, and tweeting that the Lions worked out defensive backs Jocquel Skinner, Raymon Taylor, and Jason Wilson.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/18/15

August 18th, 2015 at 12:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Tuesday’s minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL:

  • Long snapper Nate Boyer, who took an unusual path to the NFL, has been waived by the Seahawks, according to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (Twitter link). With the newly-created roster spot, the Seahawks appear to have signed quarterback Jake Waters, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter links).
  • The Steelers have reduced the number of quarterbacks on their roster by one, announcing today that they’ve cut Tajh Boyd, replacing him with wide receiver Jarrod West (Twitter link via Burt Lauten).
  • Vikings tackle Phil Loadholt, who tore his Achilles on Saturday, has been officially placed on injured reserve, the team announced today. To replace him, Minnesota signed former Giants tackle Stephen Goodin.
  • The Eagles‘ roster turnover at linebacker continues, as the team announced today (via Twitter) that it has signed former Southern Mississippi linebacker Dasman McCullum to replace Jordan Dewalt-Ondijo, who has been waived/injured due to an ankle injury.
  • The Colts made a change to their wide receiver group, signing UDFA wideout L.T. Smith and waiving Tyler Rutenbeck, according to a team release.
  • Former Emporia State wide receiver Austin Willis has been waived by the Raiders, tweets Herbie Teope of ChiefsDigest.com.
  • The Cardinals have a new body in their secondary, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post, who reports that safety Anthony Walters has signed a one-year deal with the club. Linebacker Zack Wagenmann, who broke his foot, has been waived/injured, tweets Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com.
  • More updates from Wilson: The Saints have cut receiver Kyle Prater and waived/injured defensive tackle Lawrence Virgil (Twitter link), the Jets have cut punter Jacob Schum (Twitter link), the Cowboys have cut cornerback Jason Wilson from their injured reserve list with an injury settlement (Twitter link), and the Steelers have removed running back Cameron Stingily from their IR with a settlement (Twitter link).

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/15

August 13th, 2015 at 7:02pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor signings, cuts, and other moves from around the NFL..

  • The Buccaneers announced today that they’ve waived punter Spencer Lanning, as Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com tweets. In 2014, only two punters had more attempts than the 93 punts Lanning made for the Browns. However, Lanning’s performance wasn’t great, so Cleveland cut him after trading for Andy Lee in June, at which point he was claimed by the Bucs. Today’s move leaves Tampa Bay with two punters still on the roster.
  • The Falcons announced that they’ve waived rookie safety Damian Parms, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Defensive back Ryan White has re-signed with the Packers, as Weston Hodkiewicz of the Press Gazette tweets. White was in camp with Green Bay last summer.
  • The Bills removed Justin Brown from the injured reserve with an injury settlement, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Wilson adds (via Twitter) that the Titans did the same thing with safety Cody Prewitt, removing him from their roster.
  • The 49ers have also waived a player with an injury settlement, cutting offensive lineman Ben Gottschalk from their IR, tweets Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.
  • The following players landed on their respective teams’ injured reserve lists after clearing waivers, per Wilson (Twitter link): DT Ricky Havili-Heimuli (Falcons), TE Clay Burton (Bills), WR Caleb Holley (Bills), DT Chris Whaley (Cowboys), CB Jason Wilson (Cowboys), and RB Tyler Gaffney (Patriots).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Cowboys Add 14 UDFAs

May 8th, 2015 at 10:28pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cowboys’ ballyhooed acquisition of La’el Collins will overshadow the remainder of the team’s undrafted free agent contingent. But 14 additional players joined the would-be first-rounder in signing with the Cowboys, per ESPN.com’s Todd Archer.

  • Synjyn Days, RB, Georgia Tech
  • George Farmer, WR, USC ($55K of contract guaranteed; $15K signing bonus; $40K guaranteed base salary, according to the USA Today’s Tom Pelissero on Twitter)
  • Antwan Goodley, WR, Baylor
  • Deontay Greenberry, WR, Houston
  • Ray Hamilton, TE, Iowa
  • Nick Harwell, WR, Kansas
  • Shane McDermott, C, Miami ($5K signing bonus, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun)
  • Daniel Quave, OT, Louisiana-Lafayette ($1.500 guaranteed signing bonus, per Wilson on Twitter)
  • Joel Ross, CB, Appalachian State
  • Tim Scott, S, North Carolina
  • Jameill Showers, QB, UTEP
  • Jason Wilson, CB, Central Michigan
  • Ray Vinopal, S, Pittsburgh ($2K signing bonus, tweets Wilson)
  • Lucky Whitehead, WR, Florida Atlantic