Jermelle Cudjo

NFL Workout Updates: 10/10/16

Well, this is a new one: The Steelers worked out Spanish rugby sevens player Inaki Villanueva, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link), who adds that Villanueva will attempt to make the NFL as a tight end. Villanueva, 25 this week, was part of the Spanish rugby team that competed at the 2016 Summer Olmypics.

Here’s more on today’s tryouts and visits:

Giants Down To 53

The Giants started their cuts early this morning by cutting a handful of big wide receivers and went from there. French wide receiver Anthony Dable and Cal product Darius Powe are among those who have been shown the door.

Dable played professionally in Grenoble, France and also spent the last two seasons in Germany. With his German Football League team, Dable caught 145 passes for just under 2,500 yards and 32 touchdowns over the last two campaigns. Although he did not grow up in a football-heavy atmosphere, he learned the game by watching others from afar.

I learned football by watching videos of the receivers I like on YouTube, and I like guys that are the same size as me, like Brandon Marshall,” Dable said. “I think I play like Brandon Marshall. I like how he moves after the catch, with his size.”

Powe, a 6’3″ receiver, saved his best season for last at Cal. As a senior, Powe hauled in 47 catches for 560 yards and 8 touchdowns.

We’ll keep a running list of the Giants’ moves here. All of these moves have been confirmed via team press release.

Placed on IR:

  • TE Will Johnson

Cut:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/29/16

Today’s minor moves:

  • The 49ers have announced the signing of defensive lineman B.J. McBryde to a two-year contract. McBryde, undrafted out of UConn last year, previously spent time on the practice squads of Philadelphia and Green Bay.
  • The Seahawks have released offensive lineman Lene Maiava and signed receiver Montario Hunter, an undrafted rookie from Division II Elizabeth City State, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.
  • The Titans waived undrafted rookie offensive lineman Sam Carlson, leaving them with two open roster spots, as TitanInsider.com’s Terry McCormick tweets.
  • The Titans also signed offensive lineman Ronald Patrick. Patrick has spent time on the practice squads of Dallas, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Buffalo but has yet to play in a regular-season game.
  • The Giants have signed two defensive tackles – Jermelle Cudjo and Davon Coleman – and waived receiver Donte Foster and D-tackle Melvin Lewis, per a team announcement. Cudjo appeared in 45 games (four starts) with St. Louis and Detroit from 2010-15.
  • The Bears have signed offensive lineman Dan Buchholz and waived undrafted free agent punter Ben LeCompte, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle and Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter links). This is already the second stint with the Bears for Buchholz, whom the team signed as an undrafted free agent from Duquesne in May.
  • The Chargers announced the signing of offensive lineman Marcel Jones.
  • The Colts signed tight end Nick Truesdell and waived fellow tight end Mike Miller from the non-football injury list, Mike Chappell of CBS4 tweets.
  • The Falcons have signed receiver Chris King, per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). King went undrafted out of Duquesne this year and then spent some time with Arizona.

Lions Place Alex Carter On IR-DTR

The Lions have placed rookie cornerback Alex Carter on injured reserve with a designation to return, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. Carter suffered an ankle injury during the early portion of training camp.

Detroit traded up to select Carter, a Stanford product, in the third round of the draft earlier this year. The expectation was that he would immediately contribute to the Lions’ secondary, but now he he’ll have to wait a bit longer to make his NFL debut. Carter will be eligible to begin practicing after six weeks, and can return to game action after eight.

To replace Carter on their roster, the Lions have re-signed defensive tackle Jermelle Cudjo. Cudjo was initially cut yesterday, but now he’s back on Detroit’s 53 for the time being.

Lions Reach 53-Man Roster

The Lions slashed their roster to the 53-man regular-season limit and included a couple of notable names in their cuts.

Veteran defensive lineman Corey Wootton did not make the roster after joining the Lions this offseason. The 28-year-old made 22 starts for the Bears in 2012-13 before serving as a Vikings backup last season.

To make room for Zach Zenner and Tim Wright, respectively, Detroit waived George Winn and Joseph Fauria. After releasing former Boise State star Kellen Moore, the Lions also will go into a season with just two quarterbacks for the first time since 2009.

The remainder of Detroit’s cuts are as follows:

  • Al Bond, OL
  • Crezdon Butler, DB
  • Braxston Cave, OL
  • Jermelle Cudjo, DL
  • Kerry Hyder, DL
  • Emil Igwenagu, RB
  • Isaiah Johnson, DB
  • Joe Madsen, OL
  • Nate Ness, DB
  • Casey Pierce, TE
  • Xavier Proctor, OL
  • Jeremy Ross, WR
  • Greg Salas, WR (placed on IR)
  • Julian Stanford, LB
  • Brian Suite, DB
  • Larry Webster, DL
  • Torrian Wilson, OL
  • Jerel Worthy, DL

NFC Notes: 49ers, Walsh, Vikings, Lions

Despite suffering three concussions during his two years in the league, 49ers safety Eric Reid said he hasn’t thought about retiring. The comments come after former teammate Chris Borland hung up his cleats due to concerns over brain trauma.

“No. Not at all,” Reid told Eric Branch of SFGate.com“Every guy has to evaluate their decision, whether it’s a concussion, whether it’s an ankle sprain, a torn ACL. With any injury, you have to evaluate yourself and make a personal decision.”

Let’s check out some more notes from the NFC…

  • 49ers nose tackle Mike Purcell is set to play a bigger role this season, and Branch notes that the former undrafted rookie is going to have to adjust to the spotlight. “I just want to stay humble and keep working,” said the 24-year-old. “My goal right now is to show I can do it back-to-back.”
  • Vikings kicker Blair Walsh missed three field goals during last night’s game, and Matt Vessel of the Star Tribune says the team should definitely be concerned about the position. Walsh inked a four-year extension with Minnesota in July.
  • Even with the emergence of Vikings rookie receiver Stefon Diggs, Vessel believes Marcus Sherels‘ roster spot is still secure. The writer cites the player’s production on both the kick and punt return units.
  • Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn could very well be a backup for the Vikings, notes Vessel. However, even with the veteran’s $3.45M salary, the writer believes the team should retain their depth.
  • Jermelle Cudjo has been a revelation during Lions camp, and ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein says the player is ready for an opportunity. “I’m just hungry, you know,” Cudjo said. “Sitting out last year, having a chip on my shoulder and I just want to come out here and blessed with the opportunity to showcase my skill.”

Minor Moves: Friday

Here are Friday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, including a new deal for a would-be exclusive right free agent, a few reserve/futures signings, and a practice squad change….

  • Washington has signed fullback Jordan Campbell to a reserve/futures contract, tweets Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com. Campbell spent some time on the Chiefs’ practice squad earlier in the season and worked out for Washington last month.

Earlier updates:

  • The Bengals have re-signed tight end Kevin Brock to a new contract, the team announced today (via Twitter). Brock, who joined the team in September after injuries to Tyler Eifert and Alex Smith, had been on track to become an exclusive rights free agent.
  • Since being eliminated from the postseason, the Steelers have been adding to their offseason roster, inking seven players to reserve/futures contracts on Monday and signing a couple more yesterday. Pittsburgh continued to bring players aboard today, per PR man Burt Lauten, who tweets that the team has signed linebacker Terence Garvin, wide receiver Brelan Chancellor, defensive end Matt Conrath, safety Alden Darby, tight end Michael Egnew, and linebacker Roosevelt Nix.
  • The 49ers are re-signing linebacker Shayne Skov, who finished the season on the team’s practice squad, to a reserve/futures deal, a source tells Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). The team has now locked up everyone who finished the season on the taxi squad.
  • The Lions signed defensive tackle Jermelle Cudjo to a futures contract today, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. When it appeared last week that Detroit might be without Ndamukong Suh for Sunday’s playoff game, the team brought Cudjo in for a workout.
  • The Seahawks made a small change to their taxi squad today, re-signing defensive tackle Jimmy Staten and releasing linebacker Mike Zimmer, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). As Condotta points out in a second tweet, Seattle had signed Zimmer and cut Staten just yesterday, so the club is frequently shuffling the two players on and off the unit at this point.

NFC Notes: Cruz, Bradford, Carter, Harbaugh

Uh oh. “You’ve got to prepare as if,What if Victor Cruz doesn’t come back?’ ’’ Giants GM Jerry Reese said Tuesday when looking ahead to 2015, according to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. “If you are a personnel guy, or a general manager, that is always in the back of your head. What if this guy doesn’t come back and be the player that we think he is?’’ While the Giants ponder the possibility of a season without a healthy Victor Cruz, let’s take a look around the NFC..

  • Rams coach Jeff Fisher told reporters, including Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com (via Twitter) that there will be a quarterback competition next year. A quarterback from outside the building will compete with the talented but oft-injured Sam Bradford for the top job.
  • Duron Carter, the son of Hall of Famer Cris Carter, had his first NFL visit today when met with the Buccaneers, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. Carter is also scheduled to visit the Vikings, Chiefs, and Colts on the first leg of the tour. If he does not sign this week, a second leg of visits could include visits with the Ravens, Seahawks, 49ers, and Cardinals (link). La Canfora adds that there’s lots of interest in the wide receiver.
  • Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee gives the University of Michigan some operating instructions for their brand new coach, Jim Harbaugh. The polarizing 49ers coach left to join up with his alma mater this week.
  • While the Lions waited to hear about Ndamukong Suh‘s fate, they worked out defensive tackles Jermelle Cudjo and Ogemdi Nwagbuo on Tuesday, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com. Fortunately for Detroit, Suh won his appeal and will be in the lineup on Sunday against Dallas.
  • Sid Hartman of the Star-Tribune believes that former first-round pick Christian Ponder will start once again the NFL. Ponder was once the main guy for the Vikings but it seems unlikely that he will return to them in free agency this offseason.

Extra Points: Rice, Smith, Manziel, Panthers

No one worked out former Ravens running back Ray Rice today, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (via Twitter). There are a handful of teams with running back needs at the moment, but it would appear that there is little to no interest in the embattled running back. Lions coach Jim Caldwell recently said that the team hasn’t considered Rice while the Cardinals reportedly aren’t interested, despite the hip pointer injury suffered by starter Andre Ellington.

  • In an interview on SiriusXM, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said that Arizona called the 49ers to try and acquire quarterback Alex Smith after he was hired in 2013, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The talks of a potential intra-divisional trade went nowhere, however.
  • Peter King of TheMMQB.com lays out why the Browns ought to start Johnny Manziel over Brian Hoyer this weekend against the Colts, making the case that it’s about not just this season, but about 2015 and beyond.
  • The Panthers did little to improve their roster during the offseason and look nothing like the team that made a tremendous run last season, writes Terrance Harris of The Times-Picayune. Among the changes was overhauling their receiving core and bidding farewell to Steve Smith over the offseason.
  • The Broncos, in addition to recently working out punter Chase Tenpenny, brought in several defensive players today for auditions, including FXFL linebacker Quandon Christian and former Monmouth cornerback Tevrin Brandon, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (all Twitter links). Wilson adds (via Twitter) that the team has an eye toward end-of-season reserve/futures contracts.
  • Ultimately signing Garrison Smith to their practice squad, the Saints also recently tried out several other defensive tackles, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, who tweets that the club took a look at Michael Brooks, Jermelle Cudjo, and Kyle Love.

Workout Notes: Jennings, Clemons, Winston

Earlier today, we learned that the Titans brought in cornerbacks Derek Cox, Brandon Ghee, and Curtis Marsh for auditions. Here’s a look at the latest workouts from around the NFL..