Minor NFL Transactions: 8/18/15
Here are Tuesday’s minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL:
- Long snapper Nate Boyer, who took an unusual path to the NFL, has been waived by the Seahawks, according to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (Twitter link). With the newly-created roster spot, the Seahawks appear to have signed quarterback Jake Waters, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter links).
- The Steelers have reduced the number of quarterbacks on their roster by one, announcing today that they’ve cut Tajh Boyd, replacing him with wide receiver Jarrod West (Twitter link via Burt Lauten).
- Vikings tackle Phil Loadholt, who tore his Achilles on Saturday, has been officially placed on injured reserve, the team announced today. To replace him, Minnesota signed former Giants tackle Stephen Goodin.
- The Eagles‘ roster turnover at linebacker continues, as the team announced today (via Twitter) that it has signed former Southern Mississippi linebacker Dasman McCullum to replace Jordan Dewalt-Ondijo, who has been waived/injured due to an ankle injury.
- The Colts made a change to their wide receiver group, signing UDFA wideout L.T. Smith and waiving Tyler Rutenbeck, according to a team release.
- Former Emporia State wide receiver Austin Willis has been waived by the Raiders, tweets Herbie Teope of ChiefsDigest.com.
- The Cardinals have a new body in their secondary, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post, who reports that safety Anthony Walters has signed a one-year deal with the club. Linebacker Zack Wagenmann, who broke his foot, has been waived/injured, tweets Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com.
- More updates from Wilson: The Saints have cut receiver Kyle Prater and waived/injured defensive tackle Lawrence Virgil (Twitter link), the Jets have cut punter Jacob Schum (Twitter link), the Cowboys have cut cornerback Jason Wilson from their injured reserve list with an injury settlement (Twitter link), and the Steelers have removed running back Cameron Stingily from their IR with a settlement (Twitter link).
Extra Points: Rivers, Hilton, Ngata, Cherilus
Over the weekend, the Chargers and quarterback Philip Rivers reached agreement on a lucrative four-year extension worth $84MM. Today, we learned the details of the contract.
Rivers will earn a $22.5MM signing bonus with $15MM fully guaranteed in 2015, Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets. He’ll have a $16.5MM injury-only guarantee in 2016 which converts to a full guarantee on the second day of the ’16 waiver period. In 2017, Rivers will earn $14MM with $11MM guaranteed for injury only that will convert to a full guarantee on the second day of the waiver period. In the final two years, he’ll make $10MM and $11MM, respectively, with a $5MM roster bonus in each of those seasons.
That’s big bucks for the Bolts QB, but as we learned earlier tonight, that kind of deal apparently isn’t good enough for Giants quarterback Eli Manning. Here’s more from around the NFL..
- T.Y. Hilton‘s deal with the Colts calls for him to earn base salaries of $1MM, $3MM, $8MM, $11MM, $13MM, and $14.54MM, Mike Chappell of the Indy Star tweets. Hilton’s new deal with Indianapolis could pay him $65MM in total with $39MM guaranteed.
- Contract talks between the Lions and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata are ongoing and positive, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets. Ngata, a five-time All Pro, indicated in March that he would be open to an extension, and Lions GM Martin Mayhew has said that team management is also interested in working out a long-term deal.
- Gosder Cherilus‘ deal with the Buccaneers is worth $7MM over two years, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The offensive lineman will earn $2.5MM this year and $4.5MM next year. Cherilus gets a $500K roster bonus in 2016 and his $2M base salary escalates to $3M if he plays 75 percent of the snaps in 2015, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
- Cardinals UDFA rookie linebacker Zack Wagenmann broke his foot again and will miss the entire 2015 season, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/17/15
Today’s minor signings, cuts, and other moves..
- To make room for Chris Johnson, the Cardinals have waived/injured Brandon Person, Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic tweets. Person tore his ACL on Saturday.
- The Chiefs announced that they have signed linebacker Ja’Gared Davis and cut wide receiver Adam Drake, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
- The Saints signed linebackers Justin Anderson and Chris Young, defensive tackle Austin Brown, and tight end Michael Egnew, Mike Triplett of ESPN.com tweets.
- The Packers released Adrian Coxson outright but the player will pursue an injury settlement, Wilson tweets.
- The Dolphins announced that they have waived tight end Arthur Lynch and signed free agent linebacker James Davidson in his stead, James Walker of ESPN.com tweets.
- The Seahawks released defensive tackle Jimmy Staten and linebacker Dakorey Johnson, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times (on Twitter). Seattle also signed defensive backs Jeremy Crayton and Keelan Johnson.
- The Jaguars have waived undrafted rookie linebacker Matt Robinson with an injury settlement, John Oehser of Jaguars.com tweets.
- The Panthers (on Twitter) announced that they have signed punter Matt Wile and waived/injured tight end Jamie Childers.
- The Colts announced that they have waived-injured linebacker Cody Galea and signed linebacker Nicklas Haag, Mike Chappell of the Indy Star tweets.
West Notes: Rivers, Cardinals, Seahawks
One of the factors that was considered a potential roadblocks when the Chargers and Philip Rivers begun discussing a new contract for the star quarterback was Rivers’ aversion to playing in Los Angeles. With the Chargers’ future up in the air, there was some uncertainty about whether Rivers would want to risk leaving San Diego a year after signing a new deal.
Having officially signed his extension though, Rivers told reporters today, “I’m going to be a Charger, wherever we are.” The veteran signal-caller added that he doesn’t have any sort of “disdain” or “hatred” for Los Angeles, and that comments he has made in the past reflect his attachment to San Diego more than an aversion to L.A. (Twitter links via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune).
Here’s more on Rivers, along with a handful of other notes from out of the NFL’s two West divisions….
- According to Ed Werder of ESPN.com, Rivers’ new contract features a no-trade clause, which means Rivers and the Chargers are unlikely to have a repeat of the situation that occurred earlier this year, when the QB was the subject of trade rumors and speculation.
- Since a report last week indicated that free agent running back Chris Johnson would visit and take a physical for the Cardinals, we haven’t heard any real updates. According to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (Twitter link), Cards GM Steve Keim acknowledged today that the team has talked to Johnson, but said there’s “nothing on the horizon.” Meanwhile, ESPN’s Josina Anderson (Twitter link) says Johnson passed his physical with the team.
- Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com passes along another comment from Keim, tweeting that the GM believes there will be four to six Cardinals players picked up by other teams after Arizona cuts them in a couple weeks.
- Wide receiver LaQuan Williams, who has spent parts of the last few seasons with Baltimore, is working out today for the Seahawks, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Williams also tried out for the Cowboys over the weekend.
Chris Johnson To Work Out For Cardinals
FRIDAY, 5:43pm: Johnson is headed to Arizona on Sunday to work out for the Cardinals and take a physical for the team, reports Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (via Twitter). It sounds like there’s a decent chance the two sides could reach an agreement if all goes well.
TUESDAY, 9:02am: In search of some depth at the running back position, the Cardinals have interest in one of the most notable names on the free agent market. According to Dianna Marie Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Arizona has offered Chris Johnson a one-year contract, and the veteran back is mulling the team’s offer.
We heard on Monday that Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians wasn’t overly thrilled with the play of his running backs so far this summer, and intended to discuss outside options with GM Steve Keim. The ground game was a weak spot in Arizona last season, as the team’s leading rusher, Andre Ellington, totaled just 660 yards, averaging 3.3 yards per carry. No other Cardinals back had more than 250 rushing yards.
Nonethless, the Cardinals head into the preseason with Ellington poised to bounce back, and third-round rookie David Johnson joining Stepfan Taylor and Kerwynn Williams as potential complements to Ellington. As Russini notes (via Twitter), Chris Johnson wants to go a situation where he knows he’ll make the team, and there’s no guarantee of that in Arizona.
Johnson, who turns 30 in September, is now six years removed from his 2,000-yard season, which came back in 2009. Last season for the Jets, Johnson ran for just 663 yards, the first time in his career he recorded fewer than 1,000 yards in a season. However, he averaged a respectable 4.3 yards per carry in 2014, and claims to be in great shape this year after being shot in a drive-by shooting during the offseason. It would be a surprise if he remained unemployed by Labor Day.
West Notes: Rivers, Massie, T. Williams
A report earlier in training camp indicated that the Chargers and quarterback Philip Rivers figured to shelve extension talks until 2016 if the two sides didn’t reach a deal by August 13. However, during Thursday night’s broadcast of the team’s preseason opener, Rivers still sounded open to getting something done this year, if the two sides can reach a compromise, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
“I have a contract for 2015 and I’m excited to be here with the guys and try to go help us win,” Rivers told Alex Flanagan. “If that changes, if there’s more years after that, then I’ll be fired up. But if not, in the short term I’m excited just to be a part of this team this year and try to lead us to win a lot of football games.”
While we wait to see if the Chargers and Rivers can agree to terms on a new deal, let’s check in on some other items from around the NFL’s two West divisions….
- The police report from Bobby Massie‘s January arrest has been released by the Tempe Police Department, and Jim Walsh of the Arizona Republic passes along some of the troubling details. According to police, Massie – who was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence – said he had been impaired by alcohol every day for the last 10 years, but didn’t believe he had an alcohol problem. The Cardinals‘ starting right tackle is facing a three-game suspension for the incident, though he’s appealing that penalty.
- Chargers outside linebacker Tourek Williams broke his foot during last night’s game against the Cowboys and will require surgery, a source tells Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). It’s a significant blow for San Diego, since the team wasn’t particularly deep at the position to begin with. Williams could be a candidate for the injured reserve list with the designation to return, depending on his recovery timetable.
- NFL rules prohibit team owners from owning NBA, NHL, or MLB teams in other markets that have NFL teams, but Rams owner Stan Kroenke continues to hold the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche. As Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, Kroenke has submitted a plan to the NFL to resolve that situation, and it should meet league approval, though details of the proposal aren’t known.
West Notes: A. Davis, Rivers, Foles, Sendlein
When former 49ers right tackle Anthony Davis announced his decision to leave the team earlier this offseason, it wasn’t considered a permanent retirement. Davis has since expressed a desire to return to football in 2016 after a year away, but coach Jim Tomsula isn’t thinking about a reunion just yet, as Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com writes.
“First of all, I’m not thinking about the playing side with Anthony,” Tomsula said. “He’s taking care of Anthony. I’m excited about hearing that he’d like to come back with football. I think that speaks volumes of where he’s at and how he’s feeling. That’s a different time and a different place. It does make you feel good. Obviously, things are going in the right direction for him.”
Here’s more from out of the NFL’s two West divisions:
- If the Chargers don’t work out a new contract with Philip Rivers before the season begins, the team is “fully prepared” to use the franchise tag on him in 2016 and – if necessary – 2017, writes Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. According to La Canfora, the two sides have made significant progress in extension negotiations, but there are still at least one or two issues holding up a potential agreement.
- La Canfora also passes along several details on Nick Foles‘ extension with the Rams, reporting that the deal includes $13.8MM in fully guaranteed money. The contract could void in 2017 if Foles meets certain team and individual goals, and he could also make up to $4.5MM in incentives based on individual and team achievements (all Twitter links).
- Center Lyle Sendlein‘s one-year deal with the Cardinals is worth $1.4MM with $500K fully guaranteed, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. With playing time incentives, the center could earn close to $2MM, Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic tweets.
- Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link), Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson said, “I’m not ready for retirement and I have a lot of football left in me.”
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/11/15
Here are Tuesday’s minor signings, cuts, and other moves from around the NFL:
- The Bills have signed cornerback Lavelle Westbrooks and waived/injured receiver Caleb Holley, Joe Buscaglia of WKBW tweets.
- The Cowboys have signed defensive back Brandon Smith, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com (on Twitter). To make room for Smith, the Cowboys waived/injured Chris Whaley, who tore his Achilles on Monday (link).
- After getting word that JaCorey Shepherd suffered a torn ACL and will be out for the season, the Eagles added another cornerback to their roster, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve signed former Ravens seventh-round pick Marc Anthony.
- The Lions have placed tight end David Ausberry on their injured reserve list, ending his season, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. Twentyman adds that the team signed cornerback Jocquel Skinner to fill the newly-created roster opening.
- In addition to confirming their previously reported signing of defensive tackle Tony McDaniel, the Buccaneers announced several more moves today in a press release. Tampa Bay signed punter Karl Schmitz, who was cut earlier this week by Denver, and waived rookie linebackers Quinton Alston and Sammuel Lamur.
- To make room on their roster for new kicker Garrett Hartley, the Steelers waived/injured QB/WR Devin Gardner, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). Gardner, who originally signed with the Patriots as an undrafted rookie out of Michigan in May, figures to land on Pittsburgh’s IR if he clears waivers.
- The Cardinals have made a change in their secondary, re-signing safety Ross Weaver and cutting another safety, D.J. Campbell, tweets Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com.
- The Falcons have removed safety Terell Floyd from their roster, reaching an injury settlement with him, according to the team.
- Three months after signing him as an undrafted free agent, the Packers have cut rookie wideout Ricky Collins, the club announced today in a press release. Battling a heel injury, Collins never got off Green Bay’s PUP list during camp.
- After clearing waivers, linebacker Matt Robinson will revert to the Jaguars‘ IR with a hamstring injury, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.
- According to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link), the NFL reinstated the previously-terminated contract between the Cowboys and linebacker Will Smith, who is back on the team’s injured reserve list.
Extra Points: Los Angeles, Cardinals, Levy
Ahead of tomorrow’s meeting, San Diego city officials are meeting with NFL today in Schaumburg, Illinois, Albert Breer of NFL.com tweets. The city of St. Louis has already met with the league. He adds that there is no meeting scheduled as of yet between the NFL and the city of Oakland, because there’s been no progress on that front (link). Here’s more from around the NFL..
- Cardinals coach Bruce Arians says that he’s not happy with the play of his running backs and will discuss options for outside help with GM Steve Keim, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com tweets. When asked if Ray Rice will be among the options considered, Arians said no (link).
- San Diego officials announced a stadium financing plan that would require $750MM in private money from the Chargers and NFL with $350MM in public funds, Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego tweets. Meanwhile, Chargers attorney Mark Fabiani struck back with a strongly worded statement that refuted the viability of the plan (via Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, Twitter links).
- The early word from Chicago is that Carmen Policy should not be underestimated when it comes to the Los Angeles situation, Mike Florio of PFT tweets. Policy, the longtime NFL exec, is pushing the Carson stadium project.
- The Lions were smart to get their extension with DeAndre Levy done before Lavonte David reached agreement with the Buccaneers, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com tweets. Corry reasons that David’s deal might have complicated things for Detroit.
- The Ravens lost ace returner Jacoby Jones this offseason but they’re not sweating it because their system has been successful in producing many different quality returners, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com writes. Currently, Michael Campanaro, Asa Jackson and DeAndre Carter are listed as the top three on the team’s unofficial depth chart. Lardarius Webb and Steve Smith also have expressed an interest in running back kicks.
2015 Release Candidates: NFC West
Most clubs have fairly set rosters at this point, as OTA, minicamp, and preseason performances won’t do much to alter roster composition. The majority of key releases came in March, but there are still several scenarios where certain contributors could lose their roster spot in the coming months. For the most part, we’ll focus on situations where the cap savings would be in excess of $1MM.
Because free agency has already passed, financial ramifications won’t play a huge role in these decisions; there aren’t a ton of high-profile free agents on which to spend that saved money, so these calls will mostly be made based on performance. However, any cap space saved through these potential releases could be rolled over into 2016, so that’s something clubs have to consider.
We’ve already looked at the AFC East, NFC East, AFC North, NFC North, AFC South, and NFC South, and AFC West, so let’s wrap up with the NFC West…
Arizona Cardinals:
- Lorenzo Alexander, LB: Alexander, 32, is basically a special-teams only player at this point in his career; he saw 336 special teams snaps in 2014, as opposed to just 51 on defense. For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus didn’t rate him positively even on special teams duty, handing him a -4.0 grade (subscription required). But Alexander is regarded as a valuable veteran presence on Arizona’s roster, and given that the club would save less than $2MM by releasing him, he will probably make the final 53. Prediction: not released.
- Ted Larsen, G: Larsen had a forgettable 2014 season, during which ranked as the league’s No. 68 guard among 78 qualifiers, per PFF. He won’t be playing left guard again, as the Cardinals handed Mike Iupati $40MM to handle that spot on the offensive line, but Larsen is actually listed atop Arizona’s depth chart at center. But the Cardinals were apparently so displeased with Larsen’s (and A.Q Shipley’s) camp performance that they re-signed last year’s starting center Lyle Sendlein, whom PFF graded as the league’s second-worst center in 2014, in the hopes that he’d be an improvement. Getting replaced by a player of Sendlein’s caliber isn’t a great look for Larsen, and given that Arizona can save $2.2MM by releasing Larsen, I don’t think he’ll last the summer. Prediction: released.
San Francisco 49ers:
- Ahmad Brooks, LB: Any discussion of a San Francisco release candidate has to be couched with the knowledge that the club has lost a good amount of talent during the offseason. No position on the 49ers’ roster has been more affected by offseason losses than linebacker — Chris Borland and Patrick Willis both announced their retirement, while Aldon Smith was released yesterday following an arrest. So even though Brooks lost playing time last season (and wasn’t effective when he did play, grading as a bottom-five 3-4 outside linebacker per PFF), the team will rely on him as its top OLB in 2015. The Niners could save about $4.7MM by releasing the 31-year-old Brooks, but when their other option at outside ‘backer are rookies Eli Harold and Marcus Rush, the club will gladly by the price to keep Brooks. Prediction: not released.
- Vernon Davis, TE: The 49ers’ offense didn’t take quite the offseason hit that did the team’s defense, but San Francisco’s starting 11 is noticeably lacking in terms of playmakers. That descriptor might no longer fit Davis, who caught just 26 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns last year, his worst totals since his rookie season. Davis publicly complained about his contract status last summer, but never received a new deal, and now the club save $4.9MM in cap space by cutting him. Earlier this week, however, 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said that he’s interested in working out an extension with Davis, so the 31-year-old tight end will definitely stick around for 2015. Prediction: not released.
Seattle Seahawks:
- Brandon Mebane, DT: The Seahawks don’t have much cap space to work with after extending both Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner, and with that in mind, they released Mebane’s running mate at defensive tackle — Tony McDaniel — earlier this week. Clubs don’t need a ton of cap space to get through the season — Seattle should be fine with its ~$4.9MM — but Mebane’s roster spot still could be in jeopardy for several reasons. First, Mebane is coming off an injury-plagued 2014 season; he was placed on injure reserve in November after suffering a hamstring injury. Second, if the Seahawks did feel that they needed more cap room, Mebane would be the logical candidate to go, as the club could save $5.5MM by cutting him. But with McDaniel gone, Seattle probably wants some stability on the interior of its defensive line, and Mebane was a solid player as recently as 2013. Prediction: not released.
St. Louis Rams:
- Isaiah Pead, RB: It’s been a quick fall to irrelevance for Pead, whom the Rams selected out of the University of Cincinnati in the second round of the 2012 draft. After garnering just 17 rushing attempts through his first two seasons, Pead missed the entire 2014 season after tearing his ACL. He recently accepted a pay cut, lowering his base salary from about $940K all the way down to the minimum. But I wonder if St. Louis is even interested in paying Pead that much — he’s buried on the deptch chart behind Todd Gurley, Tre Mason, and Benny Cunningham, and he isn’t a real factor on special teams, having hovered around 15% ST participation during his first two years in the league. Prediction: waived.