Trevor Robinson

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/17/17

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Falcons have placed offensive lineman Trevor Robinson on the reserve/retired list, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). An undrafted free agent in 2012, Robinson has bounced around between the Bengals, Chargers, and Falcons during his NFL tenure. In 2015, he was a full-time starter with the Bolts, but could only land a reserve/futures deal this spring. Expected to compete for a reserve role with Atlanta, Robinson has instead decided to hang up his cleats.
  • The Jaguars have waived rookie defensive back Charlie Miller with an injury settlement, the club announced today. Miller went undrafted out of Dartmouth earlier this year. He can return to Jacksonville, but he’ll have to wait three weeks plus the length of the settlement.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/17/17

Today’s minor moves:

Promotion

Atlanta Falcons

Practice Squad

Green Bay Packers

Reserve/Futures Contracts

Atlanta Falcons

Dallas Cowboys

  • TE Rico Gathers
  • WR Andy Jones

Kansas City Chiefs

New Orleans Saints

  • WR Rashad Lawrence

Falcons Sign DL Malliciah Goodman

After putting him through a workout earlier today, the Falcons have signed free agent defensive lineman Malliciah Goodman, the club announced. Atlanta also announced that is has promoted offensive lineman Kevin Graf from the practice squad, and waived defensive lineman Cliff Matthews and offensive lineman Trevor Robinson.Malliciah Goodman (Vertical)

[RELATED: Atlanta Falcons Depth Chart]

The Falcons were reportedly on the hunt for a defensive end after Adrian Clayborn suffered an MCL injury that could shelve him for the rest of the regular season. In Goodman, they’ve reunited with a player that spent time in Atlanta from 2013-15 after being selected as a fourth-round draft choice. Goodman, 26, has spent most of this season on the audition circuit, but he did play in one game for Seattle last month. Now he’ll settle in behind Tyson Jackson, Brooks Reed, and Courtney Upshaw at defensive end for the Falcons.

Like Goodman, Matthews had posted two separate stints with Atlanta, re-signing with the club this October after a brief tenure with the Buccaneers. He’s appeared in 35 games during his four-year career, mostly serving as a special teams player during that time. Robinson, meanwhile, is a former 13-game starter at center for the Chargers, and had just landed a contract with the Falcons a week ago.

Desmond Trufant Done For Season

Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant will require surgery for a torn pectoral and will miss the rest of the season, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. On Tuesday, Atlanta made it all official, announcing that Trufant is headed to IR. In related moves, the Falcons have signed center Trevor Robinson and cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson to the active roster. Punter Matt Wile has been waived.

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Trufant sustained the injury during Atlanta’s Week 9 matchup against the Buccaneers and consequently missed the team’s Week 10 contest against the Eagles. The Falcons then had their bye in Week 11, and Trufant practiced on a limited basis this week in the hopes of suiting up against the Cardinals today.

Needless to say, this is a major blow for the Falcons, as Trufant is the club’s best cover corner. He ranks as the 32nd-best corner in the NFL out of 119 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), which is a big deal for a team that ranks among the bottom third of the league in pass defense (per Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric). He also notched an interception and two sacks this season.

The 6-4 Falcons sit atop the NFC South, just one game ahead of Tampa Bay. Luckily for Atlanta, the remainder of the team’s schedule is not littered with opponents that boast high-flying passing offenses, with the Week 17 matchup against the Saints looking like the only exception.

Trufant, the Falcons’ first-round draft pick in 2013, is scheduled to make $8MM in his fifth-year option season next year. Players like Brian Poole and C.J. Goodwin will need to step up in his absence.

NFL Workout Notes: Falcons, Lions, Redskins

Former New England defensive end Rufus Johnson worked out for the Falcons today, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Johnson has made the rounds on the workout circuit since getting waived off the Patriots’ practice squad in September. Atlanta also took a look at quarterback Ricky Stanzi, wide receivers Max McCaffrey and Anthony Dable, and defensive ends Lawrence Okoye and Arthur Miley, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.

Let’s take a look at the rest of the workouts happening around the league today, all courtesy of Caplan unless otherwise noted:

Browns Work Out David Cobb, Three Others

The Browns have been busy this week, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (via Twitter) that the team worked out four players, including running backs David Cobb and Terrence Magee. The team also auditioned lineman Trevor Robinson and Darrion Weems.

David Cobb (vertical)Cobb is the most experienced running back of the two. The 23-year-old made seven appearances (one start) for the Titans last season, compiling 146 yards and a touchdown on 52 carries (2.8 average). Despite being selected in the fifth round of the 2015 draft, the Titans released the running back in August. He briefly caught on with the Steelers practice squad, but he was cut from the team earlier this month.

Magee, an undrafted free agent out of LSU in 2015, has bounced between the Ravens, Rams, and Seahawks. The 23-year-old has appeared in five career games, collecting 17 rushing yards on five carries.

Robinson, a former undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame, has 38 career games under his belt, including 21 starts. The 26-year-old made 13 starts for the Charges in 2015, but he was ultimately cut prior to the season. Weems, 28, has been in the league since 2012, but he’s only made seven appearances in those four-plus seasons.

Chargers Release C Trevor Robinson

The Chargers have released center Trevor Robinson, a source tells Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego (on Twitter). The move clears $2.3MM in cap space for the team. Trevor Robinson (vertical)

Robinson started 13 games in 2015 but was considered a potential cap casualty this summer. The 26-year-old is still not back to 100% after a shoulder injury he suffered last season, made 13 starts in 15 appearances for the Chargers in 2015. San Diego has since added free agent pickup Matt Slauson and third-rounder Max Tuerk to the fray at center.

In other Chargers news, first-round pick Joey Bosa is not reporting to the team today as his contract holdout continues. Recently, in a PFR exclusive, scouting guru Dave-Te Thomas gave an in-depth look at Bosa and the rest of San Diego’s rookie class.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AFC Notes: Ravens, Tucker, Raiders, Chargers

As the Ravens’ franchise player, kicker Justin Tucker will make $4.572MM this year if he and the team don’t agree to a new contract by the July 15 deadline. The two sides haven’t struck a deal yet because Tucker is likely looking to eclipse the Patriots’ Stephen Gostkowski as the NFL’s highest-paid kicker, according to Clifton Brown of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Gostkowski inked a four-year, $17.2MM pact that features $10.2MM in guarantees last summer, when he was 31. The 26-year-old Tucker is significantly younger than Gostkowski and has hit a higher rate of field goal attempts (87.8 percent to 87.3), albeit in 168 fewer tries. Both the Ravens and Tucker want to extend their relationship, writes Brown, who expects them to reach an agreement by next Friday’s cutoff.

Elsewhere around the AFC…

  • Big-money Raiders acquisition Bruce Irvin expects to reap the benefits of playing with superstar defensive end Khalil Mack, the ex-Seahawks linebacker told Eddie Paskal of the team’s website. “I think me being on the other side of him, I’m going to benefit a lot and get one-on-one situations, and I have to win those matchups.” That’s presumably why the Raiders awarded $19MM in guarantees to Irvin, who totaled 22 sacks in his four-year tenure in Seattle. Mack picked up 15 on his own in 2015, which was only his second season, but no other Raider had more than four. “He’s just a freak, man,” Irvin said of Mack. “He can play the run. He can rush. He can do all types of stuff, [he’s] the kind of guy you want to play with.” Mack ranked ahead of Von Miller as Pro Football Focus’ best edge defender last season and earned even higher marks as a run defender than as a pass rusher. Mack’s grade against the run (96.3) was far and away tops among edge defenders last year.
  • Center Trevor Robinson is a potential cap casualty for the Chargers this summer, reports Tom Krasovic of the San Diego-Union Tribune. By moving on from Robinson, the Bolts would save $2.3MM and take on just $75K in dead money. If the team keeps the 26-year-old, it could be after restructuring his deal, per Krasovic. Robinson, who’s still not 100 percent from a shoulder injury he suffered last season, made 13 starts in 15 appearances for the Chargers in 2015. San Diego has since added free agent pickup Matt Slauson and third-rounder Max Tuerk to the fray at center.
  • In case you missed it, the Jets and franchise-tagged defensive linemen Muhammad Wilkerson aren’t progressing toward a new contract.

Chargers To Re-Sign Trevor Robinson

The Chargers have agreed to re-sign center Trevor Robinson, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link). Per Caplan, it’s a two-year deal for Robinson that can max out at $4.5MM, and it includes playing-time bonuses.

San Diego infamously used five centers last season, as injuries took their toll on Nick Hardwick, Doug Legursky, Rich Ohrnberger, and Chris Watt before landing on Robinson. With Hardwick now retired, Watt is the presumed starter, though Robinson will presumably engage in a training camp battle for the position. The 27-year-old Robinson, who can also play guard, spent two full seasons with the Bengals before coming to the Chargers off waivers in October.

In retaining Robinson, the Chargers continue to invest in their offensive line, as they signed left tackle King Dunlap to an extension last month, before agreeing to a deal with free agent Orlando Franklin yesterday.

Minor Moves: Monday

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here….

  • The Packers will welcome back offensive lineman Jordan McCray on their practice squad, according to the FXFL’s Twitter account. Wes Hodkiewicz of the Press Gazette (on Twitter) notes that the Packers had a spot open on the practice squad, so no corresponding move is necessary.
  • The Giants have promoted running back Michael Cox from their practice squad to their 53-man roster, tweets Dan Graziano of ESPN.com. The move provides some backfield insurance, with Rashad Jennings expected to be sidelined through the team’s Week 8 bye.
  • After seeing another center go down with an injury, the Chargers are set to sign center Trevor Robinson off the Bengals’ practice squad, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). San Diego opened up a roster spot today by placing Doug Legursky on the injured reserve list, as noted below.
  • The Rams have waived linebacker Ray Ray Armstrong, who had been a key contributor on the special teams unit, tweets Brian McIntyre.

Earlier updates:

  • Wideout Kevin Dorsey has been promoted to the Packers‘ 53-man roster from their practice squad, tweets Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Former Utah State defensive back Tay Glover-Wright is taking Dorsey’s spot on the taxi squad, per Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link).
  • The Saints have waived 2014 fourth-round pick Khairi Fortt, a source tells Field Yates of ESPNBoston.com (Twitter link). It’s a somewhat surprising move, since Fortt hasn’t really had an opportunity to play yet, and his release won’t open up a roster spot, since the club had used its injured reserve/designated to return spot on him.
  • Safety Jakar Hamilton was activated today by the Cowboys, who waived linebacker Keith Smith to make room on the 53-man roster, writes Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com. The team previously had a roster exemption for Hamilton, who missed the season’s first four weeks due to a suspension.
  • The Dolphins have made a series of moves, signing wide receiver Damian Williams to their 53-man roster and waiving running back Orleans Darkwa to make room (Twitter link). The team also announced that the roster exemption for previously-suspended safety Reshad Jones has been lifted, meaning he’s now officially a part of the 53-man roster (Twitter link).
  • Linebacker Marcus Benard has re-signed with the Cardinals, per Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Benard was initially signed during John Abraham‘s absence from the team, and now takes the place of Matt Shaughnessy, who was placed on injured reserve with the designation to return today.
  • In a surprising transaction, the Packers have parted ways with tight end Ryan Taylor, who hasn’t been a huge part of the club’s passing game since being drafted in the seventh round in 2011, but has been with the team since then and contributed on special teams. Weston Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette has the details on the move, which brings the Packers’ roster count down to 52.
  • The Chargers have lost another center, announcing today (via Twitter) that Doug Legursky is heading to injured reserve with a knee injury. Longtime San Diego center Nick Hardwick was previously placed on IR with an injury of his own.
  • Cornerback Brandon Browner and wideout Brian Tyms are both being formally activated by the Patriots, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). To make room for the duo, whose roster exemptions expire today, the Pats had to cut a pair of players — Shalisa Manza Young of the Boston Globe initially reported that defensive lineman Joe Vellano would be one of the two to go (Twitter link), and the team has since announced that defensive lineman Michael Buchanan is the other. Vellano has been waived, while Buchanan was placed on IR.
  • The Eagles have made a change to their practice squad, cutting wide receiver Cobi Hamilton and replacing him with safety Jordan Kovacs, the team announced today (Twitter link).
  • The Giants are releasing Trindon Holliday from IR, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link). The veteran kick returner was placed on IR in August with a hamstring injury.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.