Robert Malone

Workout Notes: Bears, Broncos, Packers

Here’s a roundup of today’s auditions from around the NFL. All links go to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle on Twitter), unless noted otherwise..

Giants Waive Robert Malone, Others

The Giants made a score of moves at the 3pm CT deadline for 75-man rosters. The Giants’ cuts include Brandon Mosley, Eric Herman, Robert Malone, and Jordan Stanton, as Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger tweets. The Giants also released running back Akeem Hunt, offensive lineman Michael Bamiro, wide receiver Juron Criner, fullback Justin Halley, offensive lineman Derrick Johnson, defensive tackle Jummy Staten, and tight end Will Tye, as James Kratch of NJ Advance Media tweets.

Bennett Jackson and Josh Gordy have also been placed on season-ending IR, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post tweets.

The release of Malone means that Steve Weatherford has won the battle for the punter job. Safety Nat Berhe is noticeably absent from the IR list and that means his status for 2015 is still up in the air.

West Links: Seahawks, Raiders, Chargers

Following coach Gary Anderson‘s departure to Oregon State, a head coaching job at Wisconsin suddenly opened up. Both Albert Breer and ProFootballTalk (via Twitter) suggested that Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell would be a worthy candidate for the job.

The former Badgers quarterback was asked about the coaching vacancy following Seattle’s practice (via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times):

“Being a head coach someday is of interest to me. I would say I have thought about college. I don’t know exactly at this point where it would be or what it would be. But I do feel like I want to be a head coach someday.”

Bevell was the Badgers quarterback from 1992-1995, when he set several single-game and career passing records.

Let’s check out some more notes from the NFL’s western divisions…

  • Bill Williamson of ESPN.com writes that Jack Del Rio could be included in the Raiders inevitable head coaching search. “He has experience, he is doing well in his current job, he is from the East Bay Area and he is highly respected around the league,” Williamson says of the Broncos‘ defensive coordinator.
  • Williamson adds in a tweet that Jim Harbaugh would be the Raiders top choice for the job, noting that the 49ers coach is a more realistic target than Jon Gruden. However, the writer warns that securing Harbaugh’s services “may not be easy.”
  • The Chargers signed Mat McBriar yesterday, but that wasn’t the only punter the team looked at. According to Howard Balzer (on Twitter), the team also worked out Robert Malone, Zoltan Mesko and Brian Moorman.

Chargers To Sign Punter This Week

With Mike Scifres expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the regular season, and perhaps longer, after suffering a fractured clavicle on Sunday, the Chargers are bringing in punters for workouts this week, says Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter links). While kicker Nick Novak was an adequate emergency fill-in for Scifres against the Patriots, the team will sign a punter, likely a veteran, this week, per Gehlken.

It’s not clear yet which punters will be invited to tomorrow’s audition, but as Gehlken points out, Robert Malone, who worked behind Scifres during the Chargers’ 2012 training camp, is one option. Veterans Mat McBriar and Saverio Rocca are also “a short drive away,” if San Diego has interest in them. Adam Caplan of ESPN.com notes (via Twitter) that Chris Kluwe, Brian Moorman, and Adam Podlesh are among the other notable free agents currently on the market.

Scifres was reportedly set to undergo surgery this morning on his fractured clavicle, at which point the timetable for his recovery would be determined. There was optimism that he’d be able to return for the postseason, should the Chargers qualify. If that’s the case, San Diego would have to keep him on its 53-man roster — if the procedure is considered season-ending, Scifres could be moved to IR in order to accommodate the addition of a new punter.

Giants Worked Out Felix Jones, 14 Others

4:31pm: The Giants worked out 15 players in total, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, who provides the full list of participants. Here are the 11 new names:

12:00pm: After losing back-to-back divisional matchups against the NFC-leading Cowboys and Eagles, the Giants are entering their bye week, and are taking the opportunity to look at a handful of free agents. According to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter link), running backs Felix Jones and Alex Green are working out for the team.

Green, a former third-round pick who started his career with the Packers, was cut by the Jets in August and has auditioned for the Lions and Panthers since then. As for Jones, there haven’t been many reports on the former Cowboy this year, which is somewhat surprising — while he didn’t do much in limited action for the Steelers last season, he had recorded over 100 carries in each of his previous four seasons in Dallas, and is still just 27 years old.

The fact that the Giants are working out running backs shouldn’t necessarily be viewed as a sign that Rashad Jennings‘ recovery is moving slowly, or that the team is looking to add a player at the position. It’s more likely that New York is simply gauging the options in the market at several spots in case the club needs to dip into free agency later in the season.

In fact, Josina Anderson of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that quarterback Terrelle Pryor is also visiting the club today, while Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post adds tight end Tony Moeaki to the list of players auditioning. The Giants’ workout group this work is expected to be large, as Jordan Raanan of NJ.com tweets, so several more participants will likely be reported soon.

Redskins Waive Five Players

The Redskins have yet to officially announce any of their roster moves today, but the team has started to make its cuts in advance of the 53-man roster deadline, which is about 24 hours away. Here are the players cut so far by Washington:

Giants Sign 13 Players To Futures Contracts

JANUARY 7TH: The Giants signed quarterback Ricky Stanzi to a reserve/futures deal, according to Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger (via Twitter). Combined with their signing of kicker Chris Boswell from earlier today, the tally is now up to 13 for Big Blue.

DECEMBER 29TH: Joining a handful of other teams, the Giants have signed several players to reserve/futures contracts today, locking them up for the offseason. According to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (Twitter links), the following 11 players signed deals with New York today:

Of those 11 players, nine were on the team’s practice squad at season’s end. Jackson and Malone are the new additions, while cornerback Victor Hampton was the only taxi squad player not to receive a new deal.