Matt Blanchard

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/9/2016

Today’s minor moves:

  • Pass rusher Kevin Anderson, whom the Steelers waived/injured on Wednesday, has cleared waivers and reverted to injured reserve, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
  • The Bears signed quarterback Dalyn Williams and released fellow QB Matt Blanchard, as Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune writes. Williams, a UDFA from Dartmouth, threw for 2,592 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, completing 64% of his passes. The Bears liked Blanchard, but he has no more practice squad eligibility.
  • The Eagles placed linebacker Ty Powell on the reserve/retired list, as Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News tweets.
  • The Browns signed third-round pick Cody Kessler, as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal writes. Kessler, a USC product who went 93rd overall, had less hype than other quarterbacks in this year’s class but wound up being taken earlier than some big names at the position.
  • Linebacker Jerrell Harris, waived/injured by the Cowboys on Wednesday, is now on their IR after clearing waivers, tweets Wilson.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/4/16

Now that the 2015 regular season is in the books, teams can begin signing players to reserve/futures contracts, adding those players to their 90-man offseason rosters. Generally, these players finished the season on a team’s practice squad, though some were free agents at season’s end.

Here are today’s reserve/futures deals:

Atlanta Falcons signed four players (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com)

Baltimore Ravens signed seven players (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun):

  • Brennen Beyer, LB
  • Leon Brown, G
  • Nordly Capi, DE
  • Blaine Clausell, T
  • Chuck Jacobs, WR
  • Nick Perry, S
  • Harold Spears, TE

Buffalo Bills signed seven players (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com)

Chicago Bears signed nine players (Twitter link via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune):

Cleveland Browns signed six players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Dallas Cowboys signed eight players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Denver Broncos signed four players (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9NEWS)

Detroit Lions signed five players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Jacksonville Jaguars signed nine players (Twitter link via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union):

Miami Dolphins signed one player (link)

  • Tyler Davis, WR

New Orleans Saints signed five players (link via Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune):

New York Giants signed six players (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Philadelphia Eagles signed seven players (Twitter link via team):

San Diego Chargers signed six players (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego)

Seattle Seahawks signed three players (Twitter link via Wilson)

  • Andrew East, LS
  • Ronnie Shields, TE
  • Phillip Sims, QB

Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed nine players (link via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times):

  • Josh Allen, G
  • Andre Davis, WR
  • Antoine Everett, G
  • Ben Gottschalk, C
  • Gerod Holliman, S
  • Martin Ifedi, DE
  • Derrick Lott, DT
  • C.J. Roberts, CB
  • Joel Ross, CB

Tennessee Titans signed five players (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com):

  • David Fluellen, RB
  • Kevin Greene, TE
  • Nick Harwell, WR
  • Josue Matias, G
  • Will Poehls, T

Washington signs three players (link via team):

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/8/15

Here are today’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the league:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: WR Jamel Johnson (Twitter link via Rob Demovksy of ESPN.com), RB Ross Scheuerman (Twitter link via the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson)
  • Cut: DB Kyle Sebetic

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

  • To be signed: WR Antwan Goodley (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com)
  • Cut: WR DeShon Foxx (Twitter link via The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta)

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/10/15

Earlier today, we learned that the Ravens had signed running back Terrance West to their practice squad, cutting defensive end Nordly Capi to make room. That’s one of a handful of practice squad changes around the league today, so let’s round up the rest….

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: DT Eric Crume (press release via team)
  • Cut: DT Justin Hamilton

Indianapolis Colts

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

St. Louis Rams

  • Signed: LB Matthew Wells (Twitter link via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/20/15

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

  • Signed: WR Titus Davis (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post)

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Signed: LB Josh Keyes, WR Fred Williams (Twitter links via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star and Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
  • Cut: WR Kenny Cook 

Miami Dolphins

  • Signed: CB Trovon Reed (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

San Diego Chargers

  • Signed: DL Chuka Ndulue (Twitter link via Eric Williams of ESPN)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/1/15

Here are the practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL for the first day of October:

Cleveland Browns

Kansas City Chiefs

New England Patriots

New York Jets

  • Signed: DL Deon Simon (Twitter link via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News)

San Diego Chargers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/15/15

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: RB Zurlon Tipton and OL Robert Myers (via press release)

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Signed: OT Patrick Miller (via Mike DiRocco on Twitter)
  • Cut: DT Toby Johnson (via press release)

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

    • To be signed: RB Kevin Monangai and NT Travis Raciti (via team website)
    • To be cut: TE Andrew Gleichert

St. Louis Rams

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington

Workout Notes: 9/9/15

Former Falcons center Joe Hawley is visiting the Buccaneers today, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Hawley could be a fit with Tampa Bay as he has a history with offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter from their time together in Atlanta. Hawley, 27 in October, was on his way to returning from the ACL surgery that ended his 2014 season prematurely when he was cut loose by the Falcons earlier this week.

Here are more of the latest workouts and free agent meetings (All links are from Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle via Twitter, unless noted otherwise)..

  • The Vikings auditioned defensive backs Ri’Shard Anderson and C.J. Roberts, tight end Brian Leonhardt, and linebacker Jordan Tripp, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
  • The Cowboys tried out offensive tackle Charles Brown today, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Current Cowboys tackle Tyron Smith backed up Brown when both players attended USC.
  • The Titans worked out safety Shaquille Richardson (link).
  • Keavon Milton visited the Panthers (link). The offensive lineman spent time on the Seahawks’ taxi squad in 2014 before being promoted to the 53-man roster in December.
  • Former Arena Football League wide receiver Lonnie Outlaw visited the Lions (link).
  • The Buccaneers worked out linebacker Julian Stanford and linebacker Tyrell Adams (link).
  • The Giants auditioned safety Shiloh Keo, linebacker Nico Johnson, cornerback Tramain Jacobs, ex-Jets wide receiver Shaq Evans, safety Durell Eskridge, and cornerback Dwight Bentley (link). The Giants also tried out Joe Looney, Nick Moody, Henoc Muamba, Quayshawn Nealy, Xavier Proctor, and Alameda Ta’amu (link).
  • The Colts tried out offensive lineman Travis Bond, wide receiver Marquez Clark, linebacker Edwin Jackson, and defensive tackle Derrick Lott (link).
  • The Jaguars tried out Rasheed Bailey, Matt Blanchard, and Cody Fajardo (link).

Packers Cut Down To 75-Man Roster

The Packers announced that they are down to a 75-man roster. The full list of moves is presented below:

Placed On IR:

  • WR Jordy Nelson

Waived/Injured:

  • WR Javess Blue
  • WR Jimmie Hunt

Released:

  • QB Matt Blanchard
  • WR James Butler
  • LB Adrian Hubbard
  • DB Kyle Sebetic
  • TE Harold Spears

Of course, we’ve known for a while that Nelson would be placed on IR. The loss of Nelson, 30, is a body blow to a Green Bay offense that ranked first in offensive DVOA last season. Nelson was a major part of that success, catching 98 passes for more than 1,500 yards and 13 touchdowns en route to being named a second-team All Pro.

Minor Moves: Wednesday

Here are today’s minor transactions from around the NFL. As always, any additional moves will be added to the top:

Earlier Updates:

  • The Packers have taken a flyer on developmental quarterback Matt Blanchard of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Blanchard joins Scott Tolzien on the depth chart behind Aaron Rodgers.
  • The Giants have added two players, signing defensive back Josh Gordy and linebacker Ryan Jones, writes Michael Eisen of Giants.com. Gordy has played in 59 games since signing with the Jaguars as an undrafted rookie in 2010, and Jones was signed by the Ravens last June but was waived after a foot injury.
  • The Saints have signed center Mike Golic Jr., according to Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Twitter). Golic also spent time with the team last offseason.
  • The Dolphins have re-signed wide receiver LaRon Byrd, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).