2014 August - Pro Football Rumors

Panthers Trim Roster To 75 Players

August 26th, 2014 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

The Panthers have trimmed their roster from 79 players to 75 without any additional cuts, the team announced today in a press release. Quarterback Matt Blanchard, tight end D.C. Jefferson, and offensive lineman Kevin Matthews were placed on the team’s injured reserve list, while wide receiver De’Andre Presley landed on the PUP list.

Pressley is the latest wideout to be removed from the Panthers’ active roster after the team’s first wave of cuts this week included receivers Marvin McNutt and Tiquan Underwood. Considering the receiving corps was viewed as an area of weakness for Carolina heading into training camp, it’ll be interesting to see if the club addresses the position in free agency at all before the season begins.

Of the four players taken off Carolina’s active roster today, only Matthews has notable regular season experience in the NFL, having started a pair of games for the Titans in 2012.

Lions Cut Two Players, Down To 75

August 26th, 2014 at 11:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Lions’ roster is in compliance of the 75-man limit, after the team cut two more players today. According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter links), those latest roster casualties are tight end Jacob Maxwell and offensive lineman Bryce Quigley.

The release of Maxwell, who received a $3K signing bonus when he joined the Lions in May out of Louisiana Lafayette, comes as no surprise, given the team’s logjam at tight end. Similarly, Quigley hadn’t been expected to make a push for Detroit’s regular season roster after signing with the club in June out of San Diego State.

After trimming the roster to 75 players today, the Lions will have until Saturday afternoon to make their next series of cuts to get down to 53.

Titans Sign Dominique Davis

August 26th, 2014 at 11:08am CST by Luke Adams

While teams around the league remove players from their rosters in advance of today’s 75-man cutdown deadline, the Titans have added a free agent to their roster. The Titans announced today (via Twitter) that Dominique Davis has signed with the team, as first reported by Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean (via Twitter).

Davis, 25, saw limited regular season action for the Falcons last season, completing five of his seven pass attempts for 34 yards. The former Atlanta backup was cut by the team back in June when T.J. Yates arrived from Houston in a trade. Davis worked out for the Patriots earlier this month, but didn’t find a new home until today, with the Titans.

Of course, Davis’ stint in Tennessee may not last long, depending on what the team’s plan is for this weekend’s cutdown to 53 players. Assuming Davis doesn’t make the cut for the Titans’ regular-season roster, he could ultimately land one of the 10 spots on the club’s practice squad.

By our count, the Titans are now carrying 79 players on their roster, so four cuts will be required within the next four hours.

Extra Points: HGH, Incognito, Jammer, Welker

August 26th, 2014 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

The NFL and the NFLPA have yet to come to an agreement on how to institute HGH testing for the league’s players, but according to a new survey conducted by ESPN, most players would be willing to sign off on HGH testing in exchange for guaranteed contracts.

As Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com details, 82 current players were asked which concession they’d make if it meant earning guaranteed contracts, like those in Major League Baseball. 63% of the respondents said they’d submit to HGH testing, while the other options – an 18-games schedule (17%), free agency after five years instead of four (14%), and more offseason practices (6%) – garnered less support.

While the results of the survey are interesting, they may ultimately be moot, as the NFL is unlikely to agree to fully guaranteed contracts for any reason. Here’s more from around the NFL:

If the Buccaneers decide not to sign free agent guard Richie Incognito, there are a couple teams that would be willing to do so, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (via Twitter). As Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune tweets, Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht said the team’s meeting with Incognito went well and that he remains an option, but no move is imminent.
Veteran free agent Quentin Jammer doesn’t intend to retire this year, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN, who tweets that the longtime Chargers cornerback is hoping to play for at least another season.
Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link) hears that retirement isn’t currently an option being considered by Wes Welker, and that the Broncos receiver was feeling better yesterday after sustaining a concussion in the team’s most recent preseason contest.
A league source tells Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link) that the Chiefs are mulling the possibility of keeping two kickers on their roster. While carrying a second kicker may not be the best use of a regular season roster spot, Kansas City has two solid options in Ryan Succop and Cairo Santos, so the team may not want to lose one for nothing.

Giants Waive 13 Players, Place Two On IR

August 26th, 2014 at 10:49am CST by Luke Adams

10:49am: Graziano provides the last four Giants moves, reporting in a pair of tweets that the team has also cut safety C.J. Barnett and defensive tackle Everett Dawkins, as well as placing wideout Marcus Harris and safety Cooper Taylor on season-ending injured reserve.

10:27am: Vacchiano adds two more names to the list of Giants’ cuts (via Twitter): Travis Harvey (WR) and John Sullen (G). The team still has to part ways with four more players by this afternoon.

9:26am: In addition to McManus and James, the Giants have cut the following players, according to reports from Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News and Conor Orr of the Star-Ledger:

Spencer Adkins, LB
Justin Anderson, LB (waived-injured)
Jerome Cunningham, TE
Emmanuel Dieke, DE
Xavier Grimble, TE (waived-injured)
Kyle Sebetic, S
Ross Weaver, CB

The seven additional cuts bring the Giants’ roster count down to 81.

8:34am: The Giants’ first wave of roster cuts is underway, and one of the team’s first moves will settle the kicking battle in New York. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Giants have informed Brandon McManus that Josh Brown will be the club’s kicker, with McManus being cut. Additionally, defensive back Charles James will be waived, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (via Twitter). James announced that move himself this morning, via Instagram.

McManus, 23, may have lost the Giants’ kicking competition to the veteran 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, writes Bill Pennington of the New York Times. He’ll have to make it through waivers to become a free agent, so we’ll keep an eye out this week on whether another team decides to put in a claim for him.

As for James, he spent last season with the Giants and only saw two total defensive snaps, but was a frequent contributor on special teams — he recorded six overall tackles in kick and punt coverage. Graziano tweets that New York would have liked to delay its decision on James, but recent injuries on the offensive line have forced the team to change its plans.

The Giants have yet to announce these transactions, but figure to make them official later today when they finalize the rest of their cuts. The team will have to part ways with 13 more players by this afternoon’s roster cutdown deadline.

Redskins Release Mike McGlynn

August 26th, 2014 at 10:44am CST by Luke Adams

The Redskins have reduced their roster from 77 players to 75, having cut a pair of offensive players today. Tom Schad of the Washington Times reports (via Twitter) that tight end Matt Veldman was waived by the team, while John Keim of ESPN.com reports the more notable cut, tweeting that offensive lineman Mike McGlynn has been released.

McGlynn, 29, was brought in as a free agent back in March and received $200K in guaranteed money on a two-year deal with the team. The former fourth-round pick, who had been the Colts’ primary right guard for the last two seasons, was expected to compete for a starting role in Washington, but struggled in training camp and the preseason and lost his grip on a roster spot.

Because McGlynn has several seasons of NFL experience under his belt, he’ll become a free agent immediately, while Veldman will have to pass through waivers before he’s free to sign with any team.

Latest AFC Moves: Bills, Raiders, Browns, Jags

August 26th, 2014 at 10:31am CST by Luke Adams

A handful of AFC clubs have announced roster moves this morning as they look to reduce their rosters to 75 players. Teams now have less than five hours until 2014’s first cutdown deadline arrives. Here’s the latest:

Linebacker Kiko Alonso has been moved to the Bills‘ reserve/non-football injury list, per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Buffalo had already reduced its roster to 75 players, so the team actually has room to make an addition today, if it so chooses.
Although the Raiders hadn’t been expected to make an official decision on D.J. Hayden‘s status to open the season until the weekend, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports that the club has indeed decided to place the cornerback on the PUP list, meaning he’ll be sidelined for at least the first six weeks of the regular season.
The Browns have placed a pair of players – offensive lineman Michael Bowie and linebacker Darius Eubanks – on injured reserve, the team announced today (Twitter link). Both players underwent shoulder surgeries earlier in August. Cleveland will have to make one more roster move to cut down from 76 players to 75.
Jaguars cornerback Aaron Colvin has also landed on the reserve/non-football injury list, tweets John Oesher of Jaguars.com. The move puts Jacksonville’s roster at 75 active players.

Chiefs Waive Three, Down To 75 Players

August 26th, 2014 at 9:39am CST by Luke Adams

The Chiefs have become the ninth team in the NFL to get down to 75 players in advance of this afternoon’s deadline, announcing in a press release that they’ve waived tackle Ryan McKee, cornerback Kevin Rutland, and cornerback Damond Smith.

Of the three players cut today by Kansas City, only Rutland has previous NFL regular season experience, having spent time with the Jaguars in 2011 and 2012. McKee and Smith signed with the club earlier in the offseason, and weren’t expected to challenge for 53-man roster spots.

The latest series of roster moves by the Chiefs comes on the heels of the team removing 10 players from its active roster yesterday after having made two cuts on Sunday.

Latest NFC Cuts: Vikings, Redskins, Saints

August 26th, 2014 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

Here are the latest roster moves from around the NFC, as teams pare down their rosters in advance of today’s 75-man deadline:

The Vikings have reduced their roster to 75 players by cutting tight end Michael Higgins, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Higgins had been signed by Minnesota just over a month ago.
Wideout Rashad Ross is the latest roster casualty for the Redskins, having been waived this morning, according to Brian McNally of 106.7 The Fan (via Twitter). By our count, that should leave Washington with two more cuts to make before 3:00pm central time today.
Reports from Ramon Antonio Vargas of The Advocate and Evan Woodbery of the New Orleans Times-Picayune (Twitter links) suggest the Saints will cut a pair of defensive linemen: 2013 sixth-rounder Rufus Johnson and rookie George Uko.

East Notes: Sanchez, Hill, Schwartz, Cowboys

August 26th, 2014 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

As one of the league’s premier backups, Eagles signal-caller Mark Sanchez figures to be the subject of trade rumors when starting QBs like Sam Bradford go down for the season. However, as he tells Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Sanchez isn’t interested in listening to that sort of speculation.

“I’m an Eagle. I love being an Eagle,” Sanchez said. “There’s a ton of quarterbacks. Talk about someone else.”

Here’s more from around the NFL’s two East divisions:

With final cuts approaching, some trade chatter is starting to surround Jets wide receiver Stephen Hill. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter) notes that the team has already tried to move Hill this summer, with no takers so far, while Brian Costello of the New York Post (via Twitter) is skeptical that the Jets could get anything for the wideout. On the other hand, one AFC exec tells Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com that he thinks there’d be some interest, since the free agent market for receivers is thin.
The Giants received some good news on Geoff Schwartz’s foot injury, announcing today in a press release that the guard will be in a walking boot for the next seven to 10 days, then will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis. The timetable suggests that Schwartz will avoid hitting any sort of PUP or IR list.
Cowboys linebacker DeVonte Holloman tells Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that it was an “easy decision” to retire after sustaining his latest neck injury, though he admitted it’ll be “tough not to be out there” on the field with the team.
As Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram outlines, Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones weighed in on position battles at a few key positions in Dallas as the team prepares to cut its roster down to 53 players.