Nico Johnson

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/12/16

Today’s minor moves:

  • Mike Remmers has signed his restricted free agent tender with the Panthers, agent Brett Tessler tweets. The Panthers first acquired Remmers when they signed him off St. Louis’ taxi squad in October of 2014. Looking at how he has improved his value since that point, they might regret keeping him on the practice squad rather than the 53-man roster. Pro Football Focus (sub. req’d) rated Remmers as the 43rd best tackle in the league last season, giving him significantly higher marks for his run blocking than his pass blocking.
  • The Ravens (on Twitter) announced that they have waived tight end Chase Ford. Ford inked his restricted free agent tender just a few weeks ago but his $1.671MM salary was non-guaranteed. It’s possible that Ford has been removed from the roster to make room for Dennis Pitta, who is attempting to return to football in 2016. Pitta and Baltimore agreed to a restructured deal earlier today.
  • The Patriots announced that cornerback Justin Coleman has signed his ERFA tender, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. Coleman made 21 tackles in 10 games (two starts) last season.
  • Giants running back Orleans Darkwa signed his ERFA tender, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Giants cut linebacker Nico Johnson with a failed physical designation, according to Wilson (Twitter link). New York had elevated Johnson off its practice squad at the tail end of last season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/31/15

For the final time in 2015, let’s take a look at the today’s minor transactions from around the NFL:

  • With Johnny Manziel banged up, the Browns announced that they’ve signed fellow quarterback Pat Devlin, who spent the final preseason game of 2015 on Cleveland’s roster. Austin Davis will start Sunday’s contest as Manziel deals with a concussion, and Devlin will presumably act as the backup. Linebacker Jayson DiManche was waived in a corresponding move.
  • The Giants announced that they’ve placed linebacker J.T. Thomas (ankle) and long snapper Danny Aiken (thumb) on injured reserve, ending both their seasons. In their stead, New York has elevated linebacker Nico Johnson from its practice squad, while signing free agent long snapper Tyler Ott.

West Notes: Armstrong, Floyd, Welker

Police are looking into whether Raiders linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong illegally taunted a police dog before a game against the Steelers on Sunday, as an Associated Press report outlines. Chief Deputy Kevin Kraus says a player lifted his shirt, beat his chest and barked at the K-9 before telling a deputy to release the dog. Needless to say, the deputy did not follow Armstrong’s orders.

Taunting a police dog is a third-degree felony in Pennsylvania, so the consequences could potentially be severe for the linebacker. It’s not a concern for Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio though, who downplayed the story during an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio (link via FOX Sports).

“I’ve caught wind of this story. I’m going to put it in the ‘silly’ category,” Del Rio said. “I think once the facts come to light I don’t think there’s going to be much of an issue. I wouldn’t make too much of it.”

Here’s more from around the NFL’s West divisions:

  • Chargers wide receiver Malcom Floyd suffered a torn labrum on Monday night, a source tells Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego (Twitter link). According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Floyd plans to rehab the injury and “see how it goes,” with the hopes of playing through it. The 34-year-old has previously stated that 2015 will be his final season in the NFL, so it would be an unfortunate end if he had to shut it down early.
  • In his latest column for Bleacher Report, Mike Freeman examines the Rams‘ decision to sign Wes Welker, and – more importantly – Welker’s decision to continue his NFL career despite possible health risks. Freeman hears from a source that Welker has “taken great care of his finances,” and is returning to action because he doesn’t want to stop playing yet, not because he needs the money.
  • Linebacker Nico Johnson, who signed yesterday with the Giants’ practice squad, also had a workout this week with the Rams, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link).
  • Wilson also passes along the names of several players who auditioned for the Seahawks this week, including tight end Cameron Clear, quarterback Jake Heaps, defensive lineman Glenn Foster, safety Jonathan Dowling, and cornerback Keon Lyn (Twitter link).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

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: 9/25/15

With this weekend’s games just around the corner, here are Friday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:

New England Patriots

San Diego Chargers

Washington

Workout Notes: 9/23/15

Teams around the NFL are bringing in players for workouts, surveying the free agent landscape for possible practice squad additions or 53-man roster players, either for the near future or down the road. Here are a few of the latest auditions from across the league, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (all links go to Twitter):

AFC:

NFC:

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).

Workout Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Raiders, Bucs

With 53-man rosters set, teams around the NFL will start to frequently bring in players for workouts and auditions, keeping up-to-date on which free agents are out there, in case injury replacements or practice squad fill-ins are required.

Here are a few of the latest updates on teams working out players, or bringing them in for visits:

  • The Bills, who are exploring other possible options at kicker after an underwhelming preseason from Dan Carpenter, worked out Alex Henery, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (via Twitter). Henery’s last game in the NFL, the one that cost him his job, came last October, when he missed three field goals for the Lions against Buffalo.
  • Before they signed linebacker Adrian Hubbard, the Dolphins worked out Hubbard and several other players, according to Wilson (Twitter link). The players who earned an audition with Miami included former Raiders safety Jonathan Dowling, ex-Cardinals linebacker Glenn Carson, former Bengals linebacker Nico Johnson, ex-Cowboys cornerback Robert Steeples, and former Eagles safety Chris Prosinski.
  • The Raiders brought in a number of players for workouts, with a focus on wide receivers, quarterbacks, and defensive backs. According to Wilson (Twitter links), wideouts Phil Bates, John Harris, DeAndre Carter, and T.J. Graham, quarterbacks Jeff Tuel and Phillip Sims, and defensive backs Tommie Campbell, Phillip Thomas, B.W. Webb, and Ty Zimmerman auditioned for the club. Offensive lineman Dillon Farrell also had a tryout with Oakland.
  • Offensive lineman Austin Reiter, a 2015 seventh-rounder waived by Washington over the weekend, is working out for the Buccaneers this morning, tweets Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times.
  • After being waived by the Chargers last week, wide receiver Titus Davis paid a visit to the Lions, tweets Wilson.

Bengals Cut Denarius Moore, Eight Others

3:15pm: The Bengals have removed two more players from their roster, waiving wide receiver Tevin Reese and waiving fullback Mark Weisman with an injury designation, according to the team (Twitter link). The roster is now at 78 players.

10:10am: Less than five months after signing him, the Bengals have released wide receiver Denarius Moore, the team announced today (via Twitter). Moore was one of seven players cut loose by Cincinnati as the team looks to reduce its roster to 75 players in advance of tomorrow’s deadline.

Moore, 26, showed some promise during his first three seasons in Oakland, averaging about 43 receptions, 685 yards, and six touchdowns per season in spite of inconsistent quarterback play. However, he had a poor 2014 campaign, catching just 12 balls for 115 yards and no TDs, and missed the final few weeks of the season with knee and ankle issues.

Signing with the Bengals reunited the former Raiders wideout with Hue Jackson, who now serves as Cincy’s offensive coordinator. However, Moore, who got a $25K signing bonus and a $25K workout bonus from the Bengals, was unable to earn a spot on the club’s 53-man roster. He’ll immediately become a free agent.

Here are the other six players cut today by the Bengals:

  • Kwame Geathers, DT
  • Chris Jasperse, C/G
  • Nico Johnson, LB
  • Desmond Lawrence, WR
  • Sam Montgomery, DE
  • John Peters, TE