Bengals Reach 53-Man Limit
The Bengals officially made 30 moves on Saturday in order to reach the 53-man max. The full rundown is below.
Waived:
- LB Bryson Albright
- LB Brandon Bell
- WR Chris Brown
- DE Ryan Brown
- DE Will Clarke
- S Demetrious Cox
- LB P.J. Dawson
- DT David Dean
- G J.J. Dielman
- K Jake Elliott
- DE Marcus Hardison
- FB Darrin Laufasa
- OT Landon Lechler
- G Cameron Lee
- CB Tony McRae
- OT Kent Perkins
- WR Alonzo Russell
- G Dustin Stanton
- DT Josh Tupou
- WR Kermit Whitfield
- DT DeShawn Williams
- HB Jarveon Williams
- S Brandon Wilson
Released:
- DE Wallace Gilberry (story)
- OT Eric Winston (story)
Reserve/Suspended:
- LB Vontaze Burfict
- CB Adam Jones
The team also freed up a roster spot on Saturday by trading cornerback Bene Benwikere to Dallas for a conditional sixth-round draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Chargers To Cut Josh Lambo
The Chargers will cut third-year kicker Josh Lambo and give his job to undrafted rookie Younghoe Koo, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Lambo played in all 16 games for the Bolts over the past two seasons, but the team will move on and go with Koo — a South Korean talent who kicked at Georgia Southern before signing with the Chargers in May.
The Bolts are the latest AFC team to award their kicking job to the lower-profile competitor, doing so shortly after the Texans released Nick Novak — whom Lambo succeeded with the Chargers in 2015 — in favor of a second-year kicker.
Lambo made 26 of 32 field goal tries last season. He’s missed eight extra point attempts in his two-year run, however, misfiring on four post-touchdown efforts in each season. Koo only served as Georgia Southern’s full-time kicker in one season, 2016, but made 95 percent of his tries (19-for-20) during his final college campaign.
Vikings Place DE Datone Jones On IR
The Vikings are placing defensive end Datone Jones on injured reserve due to his shoulder injury, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). He’ll likely then reach an injury settlement with the team, allowing him to explore other options.
Recently, head coach Mike Zimmer indicated that Jones was on the roster bubble.
“At times he’s had a good stretch and then stretches where he reverts back,” Zimmer said in late August.
The Vikings gave Jones a one-year, $3.75MM deal in March. The pact included a $1.6MM signing bonus, so it’s a deal that the front office regrets. On the plus side, the team saved $2.19MM by cutting ties with him now.
Jones spent the first four years of his career with the rival Packers. A first round pick in 2013, he never fulfilled his promise in Green Bay. Last year, Pro Football Focus ranked him No. 70 out of 110 qualified edge defenders.
Bears Likely To Release Lamarr Houston
The Bears will place edge rusher Lamarr Houston on injured reserve with the intention of reaching an injury settlement, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today.
Houston, who has torn his ACL twice in the past, doesn’t have any structural damage to his knee this time around, per Pelissero, but he’ll go on IR nonetheless. An injury settlement would pay Houston for the time it takes him to recover, and allow him to sign with any club when the settlement timetable expires.
Long an underrated player with the Raiders, Houston hasn’t been able to contribute much after inking a five-year, $35MM contract with Chicago prior to the 2014 campaign. In three seasons with the Bears, the 30-year-old Houston has appeared in just 26 of a possible 48 games and made only 10 starts. He’s managed nine total sacks in Chicago, but eight of those came in 2015, his only healthy year with the Bears.
Chicago will create $6MM in cap room by releasing Houston, but it will also incur nearly $1MM in dead money in each of the next two seasons.
Broncos Waive QB Kyle Sloter
The Broncos have waived quarterback Kyle Sloter, according to Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter links).
Sloter’s release — and Paxton Lynch‘s lingering injury — means Denver will likely bring in a veteran quarterback, per Klis, who speculates the club could target Brock Osweiler. Two player sources expect the Broncos to target Osweiler in the near future, tweets Klis. Osweiler, of course, spent four seasons with the Broncos before signing with Houston last spring. He’s a free agent after being released by the Browns this week, and would only cost the minimum given that he’s earning $16MM from Cleveland.
Sloter, for his part, is a rookie undrafted free agent out of Northern Colorado. He could conceivably slip through waivers and be placed on Denver’s practice squad.
Colts Release LB Akeem Ayers
The Colts have released veteran linebacker Akeem Ayers, a source tells Tom Pelissero of NFL Network (on Twitter). As a vested veteran, he will be a free agent and not subject to waivers.
Ayers was cut loose by the Rams this time last year, a surprise since he had started eleven games for the club in the previous season. Ayers didn’t have that large of a role with the Colts in 2016, but his release was not expected.
Ayers appeared in all 16 games for Indy last year, but did not make a start. He finished out with 18 tackles, two sacks, and one interception. Ayers graded out as the No. 54 edge defender in the NFL out of 110 qualified players, per Pro Football Focus’ metrics.
The Colts plan to start John Simon and Jabaal Sheard at the outside linebacker spots in their 3-4 scheme. Rookie Tarell Basham and free agent additions Barkevious Mingo and Sean Spence will serve as their backups.
Mike Williams To Come Off PUP List
The Chargers will take Mike Williams off the PUP list in advance of the regular season, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
A lingering back injury had the first-round pick’s rookie season in doubt, but this move signals the Chargers believe he will be ready to contribute early in the season. Williams remaining on the PUP list would have shelved him for the first six weeks of the Bolts’ season.
The most recent news on the former Clemson star indicated a possible October return was in the cards, and Rapoport hears (Twitter link) that’s still the tentative plan. The herniated disc Williams suffered is still not believed to require surgery; he’s been rehabbing it for several weeks now.
Williams missed Los Angeles’ training camp and did not play during the preseason. The No. 7 overall pick returning would strengthen a Chargers offense that’s also getting Keenan Allen back. Allen, Mike Williams, Tyrell Williams and Travis Benjamin would quietly form one of the league’s most intriguing wideout contingents — one that could be the deepest of Philip Rivers‘ career.
Giants To Place Mark Herzlich On IR
The Giants are planning to place linebacker Mark Herzlich on injured reserve, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets.
Herzlich has been a reserve linebacker and special teamer for the G-Men for the past six seasons. This year, he changed his jersey number from 94 to 44 so that can appear eligible on offensive plays, but we won’t get to see him line up as a fullback/tight end this year.
The exact nature of his injury is presently unclear. Herzlich has been sidelined as of late with what was initially diagnosed as a stinger in his neck. Apparently, it’s something more serious.
Herzlich celebrated his 30th birthday on Friday.
Seahawks To Release DT Ahtyba Rubin
The Seahawks are releasing veteran defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Seattle had planned to shop Rubin after acquiring Sheldon Richardson from the Jets on Friday, but apparently weren’t able to find a taker. Even without Rubin in the picture, the Seahawks have enviable depth along the defensive interior, with options such as Jarran Reed and third-round rookie Nazair Jones available. Second-round pick Malik McDowell could also potentially return later in the season, although he’s currently recovering from an ATV accident.
In his first Seahawks season (2015), Rubin amassed 36 tackles, two sacks, and finished fourth among the team’s defensive linemen in snaps. Last year, he once again had a perfect attendance record in the regular season as he racked up 39 tackles, one sack, and three forced fumbles.
Rubin, 31, signed a three-year, $12MM deal with Seattle last offseason that contained $5.5MM in guaranteed money. By releasing him, the Seahawks will incur $1.5MM in dead money in each of the next two seasons.
49ers To Release Jeremy Kerley
Having signed a 49ers contract set to run through the 2019 season, Jeremy Kerley won’t make into Year 1 of that agreement. The team will release the veteran wide receiver, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports (on Twitter).
San Francisco signed Kerley to a three-year, $10.5MM deal, which included a $1.7MM signing bonus, in March. The seventh-year pass-catcher led the 49ers with 667 receiving yards last season.
The 49ers will absorb a $3.5MM dead-money hit for this transaction. But the team is not exactly hurting for cap space, entering Saturday holding a league most $69.3MM.
The rebuilding franchise followed up the Kerley re-up with signings of Pierre Garcon and Marquise Goodwin, adding talent to the receiving corps. The 49ers also drafted Trent Taylor in the fifth round.
This release will send Kerley back into free agency, where he resided when the Lions signed him in 2016. The former Jet’s bounce-back season in San Francisco figures to put him on the free agency radar. He won’t turn 29 until November.