Browns, Cardinals To Work Out WR Rishard Matthews
More than a week after being released by the Titans, Rishard Matthews has his first workouts. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the wideout is set to audition for the Browns on Monday and the Cardinals on Tuesday.
The wideout asked for (and was granted) his release from the Titans in late September. Since then, Matthews hadn’t generated much interest, but he did hire agent Drew Rosenhaus earlier this week. The 28-year-old was previously representing himself, and as our own Zach Links pointed out, it was essential for Matthews to team with a powerful agent to move past the perception that he quit on Tennessee.
Of course, Matthews’ play on the field hasn’t helped his free agent status, either. The former seventh-round pick was only targeted six times in three games, hauling in three receptions for 11 yards. He also had four punt returns for 38 yards. Of course, he’s not even two years removed from a 2016 campaign where he compiled 945 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
The Cardinals had previously been mentioned as a potential landing spot for Mathews, along with the Cowboys, Patriots, Bills, and Seahawks. Arizona has 616 receiving yards through four games, the worst mark in the NFL. Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk have combined for 290 of those yards, and Mathews could logically slide in ahead of Chad Williams, JJ Nelson, and Trent Sherfield on the depth chart.
The Browns’ receiving corps hasn’t been nearly as dismal as the Cardinals’ grouping, although it still hasn’t been all that inspiring. Jarvis Landry is slotted in atop the depth chart, but neither Antonio Callaway not Rashard Higgins have emerged as a consistent number-two option. Matthews could provide some competition for that grouping. At the very least, he could slot in ahead of Derrick Willies, Rod Streater, and Damion Ratley.
NFL Workout Updates: 10/2/18
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Arizona Cardinals
- WR Jordan Leslie (link via Adam Caplan of SiriusXM)
Atlanta Falcons
Cleveland Browns
- LB Junior Sylvestre (link); CBs Sterling Moore, Josh Robinson; K Daniel Carlson, Miles Bergner (link via Caplan)
Denver Broncos
- P Brock Miller (link)
Detroit Lions
- RB Akeem Hunt; C Jake Eldrenkamp; Ts Antonio Garcia, De’Ondre Wesley; G Landon Turner (link)
Green Bay Packers
- LBs Josh Carraway, Aaron Wallace (link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
Houston Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars
- RBs Matthew Dayes, Orleans Darkwa (link via Caplan)
Los Angeles Chargers
- LBs Jonathan Celestin, Tre’von Johnson; P Shane Tripucka; LS Taybor Pepper (link)
Los Angeles Rams
- LB Anthony Winbush; DBs Xavier Coleman, Ranthony Texada; K Kai Forbath
Miami Dolphins
- Gs Austin Davis, J.J. Dielman; Cs Dillon Day, T.J. Johnson, Jon Toth; T Gerhard de Beer; DTs Xavier Cooper, Will Sutton (link)
Minnesota Vikings
- DE Terrence Fede; LB Tyrone Holmes (link)
New England Patriots
- T Andrew Nelson (link)
New Orleans Saints
- G/T Oday Aboushi; Ts Chaz Green, Austin Howard; Gs Jordan Morgan, Isaiah Williams; CBs De’Vante Bausby, Jeremy Boykins, Byron Maxwell (link)
New York Jets
Oakland Raiders
- DEs Damontre Moore, Jacquies Smith; LBs Travis Feeney, Edmond Robinson; K Nick Novak (link via Caplan)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- CB Herb Waters (link)
Seattle Seahawks
- WR Keon Hatcher; DE Hau’oli Kikaha; LB Chris Odom; CB Kalan Reed; Ss Maurice Alexander, Eddie Pleasant, Jeremy Reaves (link)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- CB Josh Shaw; S A.J. Howard (link)
Tennessee Titans
- QB Garrett Gilbert; WRs Aaron Burbridge, Reggie Davis, Damoun Patterson; LB Antwione Williams (link)
Practice Squad Updates: 10/2/18
We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: S Darian Thompson, WR Bernard Reedy
- Cut: CB Demetrious Cox, LB Nigel Harris
Carolina Panthers
- Released: WR DeAndrew White
Houston Texans
- Signed: LB Tyrell Adams
- Cut: CB Breon Borders
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Skai Moore, TE Erik Swoope, RB Jonathan Williams
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: OL Jamar McGloster
- Waived: DT Steven Richardson
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DE/OLB Ja’Von Rolland-Jones, DB Linden Stephens
- Cut: DE Marcus Martin
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DT Garrison Smith
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DB Darius Hillary, G Will Holden, DB Chris Lammons, WR Tanner McEvoy
- Released: QB J.T. Barrett, T Rick Leonard, DB Arrion Springs, TE Deon Yelder
New York Giants
- Signed: T Jylan Ware
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LB Kyle Wilson
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Chad Hansen, LB LaTroy Lewis
- Cut: WR Kalif Raymond
Washington Redskins
- Signed: RB Mack Brown
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/1/18
Here are the latest practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: FS Darian Thompson
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: CB Lorenzo Doss
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Cyril Grayson
- Placed on practice squad injured-reserve: WR Jester Weah
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DL Jonathan Wynn
- Cut: LB Garret Dooley
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Harvey Langi
Wilks Denies Bradford Demotion Motivated By Money
- After promoting Josh Rosen to be the team’s starter, the Cardinals made an interesting decision to demote Sam Bradford to third string and make Mike Glennon the backup. Many assumed the decision was because Bradford would no longer earn his per game roster bonuses of over $300K as an inactive third-stringer, but Arizona coach Steve Wilks denied that after the game today. Wilks said the decision was all his and not forced on him by the front office, and that it was just about “making the best decision for the team” according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN (Twitter link).
Sam Bradford Demoted To No. 3 QB
- Sam Bradford is now the Cardinals‘ No. 3 quarterback, per Schefter, who says that going forward, rookie Josh Rosen will be the starter and will be backed up by Mike Glennon (Twitter link). That means that Bradford will generally be inactive on game days and will miss out on his active roster bonuses of $312,500 per game, a situation we explored in more detail last week.
Cardinals Demote Jamar Taylor
- Another year’s bringing uncertainty opposite Patrick Peterson in Arizona. The Cardinals have struggled for several seasons to fill their No. 2 cornerback job, and the player they acquired to be the latest solution is now in a competition with Bene Benwikere. The Cards benched Jamar Taylor in Week 3 and now have he and Benwikere competing for the other starting job, Bob McManamon of the Arizona Republic notes. These two follow the likes of Brandon Williams and Justin Bethel in the Cardinals’ continuous search to find a reliable starter opposite Peterson. While both players will still play against the Seahawks, per Steve Wilks, this being a competition again is notable given the team’s recent history here.
Details On Rosen's Promotion
The Cardinals finally made the decision to insert Josh Rosen into the game last week, giving the public their first look at the last of the ‘Big Four’ quarterbacks to make an appearance. All four of Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, and Rosen are starters now, and Rosen was the last to see game action. The Cardinals’ plan had reportedly been to continue to start Sam Bradford moving forward, but he played so poorly that he forced Arizona’s hand.
Apparently for Cardinals coaches, Rosen’s command of the huddle in his brief relief appearance last Sunday “was the final piece of the puzzle in deciding to the pull the trigger on the quarterback switch” reports Albert Breer of SI.com. Breer notes that Cardinals sources told him Rosen has “been outstanding of late in practice”, and it sounds like they have full confidence in the rookie signal caller. The tenth overall pick from UCLA will get his first start this Sunday at home against the Seahawks.
NFL Workout Updates: 9/25/18
Here’s the latest from the workout circuit, all links going to NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted.
Arizona Cardinals
- LB Ufomba Kamalu, DE Ryan Russell, CB Linden Stephens, CB Ronald Zamort (link)
Atlanta Falcons
- LB B.J. Bello, LB Richie Brown, S Sharrod Neasman, DT Rakeem Nunez-Roches, DE Jeremiah Valoaga (link)
Baltimore Ravens
- CB De’Vante Bausby, G Jermaine Eluemunor (visit), WR Janorian Grant (visit), CB Prince Charles Iworah, CB Kalan Reed (link)
Chicago Bears
- WR Reggie Davis, WR Cyril Grayson, WR Carlos Henderson (Twitter link via Sirius XM Radio’s Adam Caplan)
Cleveland Browns
- CB D.J. Killings, CB Peyton Thompson (Twitter link via Caplan)
Detroit Lions
- LB Zaire Anderson, TE Marcus Baugh, TE Jerome Cunningham, LS Ryan DiSalvo, K Kai Forbath, TE Temarrick Hemingway, P Jeff Locke, P Brad Nortman, LS Jeff Overbaugh, LS Taybor Pepper, K Cairo Santos, LB Brandon Spikes (link)
Houston Texans
- LB Kevin Minter, DT Chris Okoye, LB Hayes Pullard, LB John Timu (Twitter link via the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- WR Chad Hansen, RB Jeremy Langford, QB Paxton Lynch (via Caplan, on Twitter)
Los Angeles Chargers
- TE Jerell Adams, TE Vince Mayle, TE Wes Saxton (link)
New England Patriots
- DT Michael Bennett, DE Ryan Delaire, DE John Simon, LB Azeem Victor (Twitter links via Balzer and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport)
San Francisco 49ers
- WR Deontex Alexander, S Kelcie McCray, S Eddie Pleasant (link)
Seattle Seahawks
- C Dillon Day, T Gerhard de Beer, T Christian DiLauro, DT David Parry (link)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- T Christian DiLauro (link)
Tennessee Titans
- TE Donnie Ernsberger, WR Shay Fields, TE Temarrick Hemingway, WR Roger Lewis, WR Kalif Raymond (link)
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/25/18
Here are Tuesday’s practice squad decisions:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DE Ufomba Kamalu
- Cut: DE Alec James
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: OL Jermaine Eluemunor, WR Janarion Grant
Denver Broncos
- Signed: P Colby Wadman
- Cut: DL Niles Scott
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: G Anthony Coyle
- Cut: C Austin Davis
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Malachi Dupre
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: TE Vince Mayle, RB Detrez Newsome
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DL Cameron Malveaux
New York Jets
- Signed: WR Deontay Burnett
- Placed on practice squad IR: WR ArDarius Stewart
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: G Josh Andrews
- Cut: C Jon Toth
Seattle Seahawks
- Cut: C Marcus Henry
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Kalif Raymond, G Ian Silberman
- Cut: DL Deon Simon, QB Logan Woodside