HEADLINES

Month: August 2014

NFC East Notes: Bryant, Cowboys, Giants

August 26th, 2014 at 8:42pm CST by Zachary Links

With talks starting up again between the Cowboys and Dez Bryant, Jason Fitzgerald of the National Football Post asks how much the wide receiver is worth. Bryant reportedly wants to be paid like a top five wide receiver and Dallas will have a hard time convincing agent Eugene Parker that his client should make less than Dwayne Bowe $56MM over five years, $26MM in guarantees). More out of the NFC East..

  • Today’s release of quarterback Caleb Hanie by the Cowboys likely bodes well for undrafted free agent QB Dustin Vaughan, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.
  • The Giants traded kicker Brandon McManus to the Broncos rather than cutting him outright because the rival Eagles had interest in him, tweets Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
  • Antrel Rolle is upset that cornerback and special teams contributor Charles James was let go by the Giants, writes Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. When Big Blue dropped 15 players to go from 90 to 75, the release of the 23-year-old James came as a surprise to some.

Minor Moves: Tuesday

August 26th, 2014 at 8:03pm CST by Zachary Links

Tonight’s minor moves..

  • The Raiders announced that they have claimed kicker Giorgio Tavecchio via waivers from the Lions. In a corresponding move, Oakland waived kicker Kevin Goessling. Tavecchio will likely serve as insurance in the event that Sebastian Janikowski isn’t ready to go in Week 1.
  • The Bills have claimed punter/kicker Jordan Gay off waivers from the Panthers, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • According to the NFL transactions wire, the Seahawks have waived linebacker Marcus Dowtin and claimed center Patrick Lewis off waivers from the Jaguars, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Dowtin saw three games of action with the Giants in 2013 before being released in March.
  • Safety Ty Zimmerman, receiver Andy Tanner, and tackle Ty Nsekhe were added to the Saints‘ injured reserve amidst today’s roster moves, tweets Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
  • Rams linebacker Pat Schiller reverted to the club’s injured reserve after clearing waivers, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).

Lions Want DBs, Browns Shopping DLs

August 26th, 2014 at 6:53pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lions are making calls around the league in an effort to bolster their secondary while the Browns are gauging interest in their defensive linemen, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.

Defensive back has been regarded as a weak spot for the Lions all offseason long and some would argue that they should have addressed that concern months ago. Detroit brought the once-notable Drayton Florence in on a deal but he was gone after just two weeks. As it stands, Rashean Mathis and Darius Slay are the projected starting cornerbacks and Detroit presumably would like someone to fill the third or fourth spot on the depth chart that was once penciled in with Florence’s name. There will be plenty of corners and safeties on the open market between now and the start of the season thanks to roster cuts, but it sounds like the Lions are inquiring about landing a DB via trade.

Meanwhile, the report doesn’t indicate which defensive linemen are being dangled by Cleveland or what the Browns hope to gain in return. It’s conceivable that the Browns would look to add another wide receiver given their lack of impressive options at the moment. Veteran Miles Austin has a track record of success, but he also has a track record of hamstring injuries. Anthony Armstrong was brought aboard for depth at wide receiver but he was axed yesterday as the Browns moved to get down to a 75-man roster.

NFL Fines Pete Carroll, Seahawks

August 26th, 2014 at 5:03pm CST by Zachary Links

5:03pm: The Seahawks players will still be paid for the cancelled sessions, tweets Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. Seattle forfeits its first two days of on-field double practices for their 2015 minicamp and will have one 2.5 hour on-field practice on the final day (link).

4:36pm: The Seahawks and coach Pete Carroll have been collectively fined more than $300K and will lose two minicamp practices in 2015 for violating no-contact rules that govern NFL teams offseason practices, sources tell ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. Carroll’s fine was “at least” $100K and the Seahawks were docked “in excess of $200K” by commissioner Roger Goodell according to Mortensen’s sources.

The team will lose at least two minicamp practices in 2015 because they had excessive contact between players during a June 16th practice. Seattle is no stranger to this sort of thing either – the club was fined an undisclosed amount in 2012 by Goodell for a similar violation under Carroll’s supervision and lost their final two OTA practices. The 2011 CBA bans physical contact between players during the offseason and the NFL has come down hard on violations.

 

Packers Place Six Players On IR

August 26th, 2014 at 5:02pm CST by Zachary Links

Losing B.J. Raji is certainly unfortunate for the Packers, but as we learned late last week, they’re not panicking. Rather than pick through the scraps on the open market, the Packers are prepared to work with a number of in-house replacements, including Josh Boyd, Letroy Guion and undrafted rookie Mike Pennel. Here’s the latest out of Green Bay..

  • According to an NFL source, the Packers will place guard Andrew Tiller on the waived-injured list, tweets Justin Felder of FOX 11 in Green Bay. Tiller injured his calf against the Raiders in preseason action. The Syracuse product has previously spent time with the Saints and Chargers and was on Green Bay’s practice squad last season.
  • As expected, the Packers will place Raji on injured reserve today, a league source tells Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The 28-year-old defensive lineman suffered a biceps tear last week.
  • Vinnie Porter, the agent to former Oregon tight end Colt Lyerla, tells Demovsky (link) that the Packers gave his client an eight-week regular season injury settlement. Lyerla tore his MCL and PCL and, as expected, was waived-injured by the team. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) confirmed the move earlier today.
  • In total, the Packers announced that they have placed six players on injured reserve to get down to a 75-man roster, tweets Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com. The six headed to IR are: Raji, Tiller, wide receiver Jared Abbrederis, offensive lineman Don Barclay, running back Rajion Neal, and linebacker Joe Thomas.

Texans Waive Boffeli, Hazel, McClung

August 26th, 2014 at 4:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The Texans have cut three players, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston, who tweets that offensive lineman Conor Boffeli, linebacker Paul Hazel and wide receiver Anthony McClung are no longer on the team’s roster.

Of the three players, only Hazel has regular-season NFL experience, having spent his rookie season in Cleveland, where he played sparingly on defense and special teams. Because he only has one accrued NFL season under his belt though, he’ll be passing through waivers along with Boffeli and McClung.

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle indicates that this series of moves reduces the Texans’ roster count to the required 75 players. Prior to these cuts, Houston’s official roster listed 79 active players, so we’ll have to wait for an official announcement from the team to confirm whether one more player is being removed from the roster.

Broncos Acquire Brandon McManus

August 26th, 2014 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

4:06pm: In order for the Giants to acquire that seventh-round pick from the Broncos, McManus will need to remain Denver’s kicker after Prater is eligible to return from his suspension, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post. It’s hard to imagine that happening, so I doubt a pick changes hands as a result of this deal.

Klis adds in a tweet that kicker Mitch Ewald has been cut to make room on the roster for McManus.

2:30pm: The Broncos have added some kicking insurance, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that Brandon McManus has been sent to Denver by the Giants in exchange for a conditional seventh-round draft pick. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk first reported (via Twitter) that McManus had been traded instead of waived, as had been announced earlier today.

McManus, 23, lost the Giants’ competition to veteran kicker Brown, but he has a big leg, having reportedly made a 75-yard field goal in training camp, as well as frequently putting kickoffs 10 yards out of the end zone, per Bill Pennington of the New York Times. McManus was expected to draw interest on the waiver wire, so the Broncos – who would’ve been near the back of the priority list – prudently agreed to part with a conditional seventh-rounder, which figures to land near the very end of the 2015 draft.

Broncos kicker Matt Prater has been suspended for the first four games of the 2014 season, so McManus looks like a good bet to take over kicking duties in Denver for September. The Broncos had previously whittled their roster down to 75 players, so they’ll now have to make one more cut to make room for the former Giant.

Bucs Claim Two Players, Cut Three

August 26th, 2014 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

While they’ll be overshadowed by the team’s big move of the day – the acquisition of All-Pro guard Logan Mankins – the Buccaneers have also made several more roster moves, reducing their roster to 75 players in advance of today’s cutdown deadline. Via Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (Twitter links), here are the latest transactions completed by Tampa Bay:

Claimed off waivers:

Waived:

Waived-injured:

  • Matt Patchan, OT

Placed on injured reserve:

Pats Cut Six Players, Place Two On IR

August 26th, 2014 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

3:45pm: The Pats are now down to 75 players, after officially announcing their last few roster moves of the day. According to a press release, New England also cut defensive lineman Ben Bass and defensive back Jemea Thomas, and placed linebacker Cameron Gordon on injured reserve.

12:14pm: Defensive back Travis Hawkins will also be waived by the Pats, according to Howe (via Twitter).

12:12pm: The Patriots continue to reduce their roster count on their way to getting down to 75 players by this afternoon’s deadline. While the team has yet to officially announce its latest transactions, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports (via Twitter) that rookie receiver Wilson Van Hooser has been waived and that the team will place running back Tyler Gaffney on injured reserve. Additionally, wideout Derrick Johnson and linebacker Deontae Skinner will be among the Pats’ cuts, according to reports from Christopher Price of WEEI.com and Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).

According to Howe (via Twitter), Van Hooser has already received some interest from a couple other NFL teams, and looks like a candidate to land on a practice squad somewhere. The wideout could technically still end up signing with New England’s practice squad, though typically a player waived during the first wave of cuts won’t be among a team’s top choices.

As for Gaffney, the Pats originally claimed him off waivers from Carolina, when the Panthers tried to sneak him through to their own injured reserve list. However, by hanging on to him until roster cutdowns, New England will no longer have to put Gaffney through waivers to place him on IR.

By our count, New England will still have 79 active players on its roster after these four moves, so four more transactions will be necessary this afternoon.

Dolphins Cut Brady Quinn, Seven Others

August 26th, 2014 at 3:30pm CST by Luke Adams

3:30pm: The Dolphins have formally announced their other nine roster moves (Twitter link). The following players have been removed from the active roster:

Waived:

Placed on injured reserve:

3:11pm: The Dolphins must officially remove 11 players from their active roster today, and while the team has yet to announce those moves, a pair of cuts have been reported so far. Veteran quarterback Brady Quinn passed along word of his own release, tweeting that his time with the team was “short-lived,” but that he “enjoyed every second.” Besides Quinn, wide receiver Armon Binns will also be one of Miami’s roster casualties, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Quinn, who spent time in 2013 with the Seahawks, Jets and Rams, didn’t see any action during the regular season, and didn’t join a new team this year until about two weeks ago, when he signed with Miami. Viewed as a stopgap signing for a team in need of healthy camp arms, Quinn was never a threat to unseat backup signal-caller Matt Moore, let alone starter Ryan Tannehill. Perhaps now if the team has injuries problems in the regular season though, Quinn will get a look.

As for Binns, his best NFL season came in 2012, when he caught 24 total balls during his time with the Bengals and Dolphins. After missing the 2013 campaign, he didn’t appear to be in Miami’s plans for 2014.

Load More Posts