NFC Notes: Lattimore, Weeden, Newton
Let’s take a look at the latest from the NFC:
- If Marcus Lattimore retires as expected, he should be able to collect on a $1.7MM insurance policy, Lattimore’s agent tells Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. The 49ers running back took out the policy during his junior year at South Carolina. Per Rovell, a standard disability policy for an athlete allows for a player to play no more than four games before deciding whether to act on the policy. Lattimore hasn’t played a single game since being drafted in the fourth round last year.
- The Cowboys decided to release veteran Kyle Orton during the offseason and roll with Brandon Weeden as their backup quarterback, and although Weeden played poorly on Sunday against the Cardinals, owner Jerry Jones doesn’t regret his choice. “I don’t second guess that at all because we lost games with those experienced quarterbacks, with the quarterbacks that were more experienced,” Jones told Todd Archer of ESPN.com. “As a matter of fact we got knocked out of the playoffs with the more experienced quarterback (Orton) last year, and so I think it’s all relevant.”
- ESPN.com’s David Newton examines whether the Panthers should act urgently in locking up Cam Newton to a long-term deal. For his part, Newton could afford to wait until next year to begin negotiations, as his current level of play doesn’t warrant the type of contract that Colin Kaepernick or Andy Dalton received, writes Newton.
- Washington head coach Jay Gruden told reporters, including Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com, that the club intends to activate receiver Leonard Hankerson from the PUP list this week. Hankerson, who’s averaged 34 receptions and 459 yards over the past two seasons, would presumably slot in behind DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, and Andre Roberts as Washington’s fourth receiver.
- The Patriots released defensive tackle Tommy Kelly just prior to the start of the season, which allowed the veteran to latch on with the Cardinals. He’s played well, and one Arizona assistant is glad New England decided to part ways with the 33-year-old. “Tell Bill (Belichick) I said, ‘Thank you,’ “ defensive line coach Brentson Buckner told Michael Silver of NFL.com. “Kelly’s been great for us. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
Minor Moves: Monday
As teams deal with Week 9 injuries and look ahead to Week 10, we can expect to see several clubs tweak the backs of their 53-man rosters and their practice squads. Here are Monday’s latest minor transactions:
- The Dolphins have placed safety Michael Thomas on injured reserve after he suffered a significant chest injury in Sunday’s game, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). To take his place on the roster, Miami signed fellow S Jordan Kovacs off the Eagles’ practice squad, per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). The Fins will also add tight end Jake Stoneburner to its taxi squad, tweets Salguero.
- Two Buccaneers players, defensive end Da’Quan Bowers and fullback Jorvorskie Lane, have been reinstated from the suspended list, according to Howard Balzer (Twitter link).
- The Buccaneers have waived defensive tackle Matthew Masifilo, reports Caplan (on Twitter). The 2012 undrafted free agent played in one game this season for Tampa Bay.
- Because return man Trindon Holliday was waived/injured, and has now cleared waivers, he has reverted to the Buccaneers’ injured reserve list, according to Wilson (on Twitter).
- More Bucs news, as the club has made several changes to its practice squad. Tampa added linebacker Denicos Allen and tight end Ted Bolser to its taxi squad, while cutting fullback Lonnie Pryor and linebacker Mister Alexander, says Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (via Twitter).
- To make room for Square (referenced below), the Chargers have cut safety Adrian Phillips, who was just signed on Saturday, per Wilson (Twitter link).
- The Bengals announced several changes to its practice squad, tweets Coley Harvey of ESPN.com. We learned earlier today that linebacker Khairi Fortt was lost to the Jaguars, but the team also cut tight end Kevin Greene. To replace them, Cincinnati signed tight end Jake Murphy and linebacker Justin Jackson.
- The Cardinals have re-signed defensive tackle Bruce Gaston, who was let go on Saturday, to their taxi squad, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (on Twitter).
- The Jets have made an addition to their PS, bringing in receiver Chris Owusu, per Brian Costello of the New York Post (Twitter link). Owusu caught 13 balls for the Buccaneers last season.
Earlier updates:
- Defensive end Damion Square, who was cut by the Chiefs on Saturday, has been claimed off waivers by the division-rival Chargers, according to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter). San Diego doesn’t have an open roster spot, so the team will need to make a corresponding move for the transaction to become official.
- The Bills have filled their lone open roster spot by claiming safety Jerome Couplin off waivers from the Lions, per Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
- The Lions have made a few changes to their practice squad, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com, who tweets that the team has added tight end Jordan Thompson, cornerback Trevin Wade, and defensive tackle Roy Philon, releasing tight end Ifeanyi Momah.
- After working them out earlier, the Vikings have signed quarterback Pat Devlin and tight end Rashaun Allen to their taxi squad, according to Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (via Twitter). To make space on the unit, the team moved quarterback Chandler Harnish to the practice squad IR list and cut tight end Ryan Otten.
- Fullback Michael Zordich has signed with the Saints‘ practice squad, according to his agency, Tier 1 Sports Management (Twitter link).
- The Buccaneers are set to sign tackle Matt Patchan to their practice squad, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Minor Moves: Saturday
Here are today’s minor transactions, with the most recent updates added to the top of the list…
- Wideout Bryan Walters has been cut by the Seahawks, who have promoted practice squad safety Terrance Parks to take his place on the roster, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. As Condotta observes (Twitter links), the move adds depth at safety with a couple players ailing, and leaves Seattle with five active receivers.
- The Lions have released safety Jerome Couplin and tight end Jordan Thompson, reports Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (via Twitter). One of those roster spots would likely go to Kyle Van Noy who is set to return to action next week. The other could go to a defensive tackle, with Nick Fairley set to miss this Sunday’s game.
- The Chargers have released running back Shaun Draughn, reports Michael Gehlken of the U-T San Diego (via Twitter). The team signed safety Adrian Phillips into that roster spot.
Earlier updates:
- The 49ers have promoted cornerback Leon McFadden to their active roster, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Twitter).
- The Cardinals have promoted running back Kerwynn Williams to the active roster, reports Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. To make room on the roster, the team parted ways with defensive tackle Bruce Gaston. Urban notes that Gaston could return to the team next week.
- The Jets have promoted quarterback Matt Simms and cut wideout Chris Owusu, tweets Aaron Wilson. Simms, the son of former Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms, is likely insurance for the Jets in case Geno Smith is unable to suit up.
- The Chiefs have promoted safety Daniel Sorensen from their practice squad, tweets Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star. To make room on the roster, the team released defensive lineman Damion Square.
- Washington will release defensive end Clifton Geathers and will activate former fourth round pick Phillip Thomas to the active roster, reports ESPN 980 Radio (confirmed by ESPN’s John Keim). Geathers has been with seven different squads since entering the league in 2010. He signed with Washington this past offseason. Thomas still hasn’t made an NFL appearance since being selected by Washington in last year’s draft.
NFC Notes: Eagles, Aldon Smith, Cards
The Eagles were cited as a potential suitor for a safety prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline, but they didn’t trade for anyone to replace Nate Allen because they have confidence in his ability to bounce back, as Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
“I watch every play Nate had. Nate had a very good game. He had one bad play,” defensive coordinator Bill Davis said. “Over and over again, Nate was in the right spot, the right leverage, making the plays, and at the end of the game he had one bad play. The spotlight is on you, and that’s part of being in the secondary, but Nate has thick skin, and we as a defense, collectively, blew it at the end.”
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- Don’t expect an announcement on a reduced suspension for 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith today, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The chances of Smith playing on Sunday are diminishing, but he could be in line for a return in the following week. That means the linebacker probably won’t be available for SF’s divisional game against the Rams but he could be back in action for the following week at New Orleans.
- With lots of talk and little action before this year’s trade deadline, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians has a simple solution to make things more active. “It’s not like if it were four more weeks, you might be out of it, and you might trade a guy that’s in the last year of his contract and you’re not going to get anything for,” Arians said on SiriusXM, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. “But right now they’re still hoping in 25 cities or 28 cities that they’re going to the playoffs. I would like to see the trade deadline go back a little bit.“
- Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk checks in on Adrian Peterson, writing that the Vikings running back’s career outlook remains murky.
- While Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley will get a second opinion on his knee injury on Friday or early next week, he’s not expected to undergo surgery and should be sidelined for about a month, tweets Rapoport.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
NFC West Notes: Barron, Rams, Cards, 49ers
Let’s check out the latest from the NFC West, where the Rams made a relatively surprising trade earlier today…
- Acquiring Mark Barron from the Buccaneers was a low-risk, high-reward move for the Rams, writes Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com, but it’s fair to wonder how Barron will fit in with St. Louis’ defense. Barron has been more successful as an in-the-box type safety, but as Wagoner notes, the Rams currently deploy T.J. McDonald near the line of scrimmage. In fact, McDonald grades as the second-worst safety in the league in terms of pass coverage, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Nevertheless, St. Louis can use the remainder of the season to determine if Barron has a future with the club, and more specifically, if it wants to exercise his fifth-year option.
- Several bullets into his latest notes post, Mike Sando of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) examines the Rams’ free agent miscues during head coach Jeff Fisher’s tenure. Jake Long is now injured once again, Jared Cook hasn’t been worth his $7MM annual salary, and a third high-priced addition, cornerback Cortland Finnegan, was released prior to the season.
- Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link), Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians said that he and general manager Steve Keim discussed several potential trades, but none came to fruition. Additionally, Arians suggested the trade deadline be moved later in the season.
- The 49ers currently have an open space on their 53-man roster, notes Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter). San Francisco did not make a transaction today, and while the club could be saving a spot for Aldon Smith, the league did not make an announcement regarding a reduction of his suspension. Jim Harbaugh told reporters yesterday that he had yet to hear anything about Smith’s ban being lessened.
- After giving up multiple draft picks for Percy Harvin (and then dealing him away one year later), the Seahawks were right to not make a trade today, opines ESPN.com’s Terry Blount.
Practice Squad Updates: Tuesday
They may not be the sort of deadline-day transactions we’re hoping for, but some teams around the league are making roster moves, adding and subtracting players from their respective practice squads. We’ll track the latest updates below:
- The Broncos have added receiver Douglas McNeil to their practice squad, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post. An Arena League standout, the 26-year-old McNeil caught 66 balls for 858 yards and 18 touchdowns in 11 games for the Portland Thunder. He takes the practice squad spot of John Boyett, who was released last week following his arrest for assault.
- The Colts announced receiver Chandler Jones was signed to their practice squad at the expense of running back Jeff Demps. This will be Jones’ second stint with the Colts this season, while Demps’ stay with the team lasted just a week. Jones is an undrafted free agent out of San Jose State, where he is the school’s all-time leading receiver.
- The Giants have cut linebacker Carlos Fields from their practice squad, according to NJ.com’s Jordan Raanan (via Twitter).
- Running back Ben Malena has replaced cornerback Kendall James on the Texans‘ practice squad, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
- The Rams have signed offensive tackle Steven Baker to their taxi squad, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The club had plenty of space to add Baker without cutting a player, but released quarterback Garrett Gilbert from the practice squad nonetheless, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.
- Wideout Tavarres King has signed to the Buccaneers‘ practice squad, says Caplan (via Twitter). The team doesn’t have any openings on its PS, but after today’s trades, there are two spots available on the active roster, so I imagine at least one player is in line for a promotion.
Earlier updates:
- The Dolphins performed a bit of an overhaul on their practice squad today, adding tight end Evan Wilson, tight end Gerell Robinson, and cornerback Rashaan Melvin to replace quarterback Seth Lobato, tight end Jake Murphy, and defensive back Rod Sweeting, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter links).
- With backup running back Stepfan Taylor expected to be sidelined for the near future, the Cardinals have added some backfield insurance via their practice squad, signing running back Zach Bauman, writes Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. Cornerback Anthony Gaitor has been waived to make room for the new addition.
- Wide receiver Jace Davis, who was with the Ravens during training camp and the preseason, has re-signed with the team’s practice squad, according to a press release. Davis takes the 10th and final spot, which had been vacated after tight end Phillip Supernaw was promoted to the active roster on the weekend.
NFC Notes: Cardinals, Falcons, Giants
With less than one hour remaining until the trade deadline for 2014 passes, there’s been little Tuesday action around the league. If the Cardinals don’t make a move though, it won’t be for lack of trying, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic. Somers tweets that the Cards have made “many calls” in search of a pass rusher, but haven’t had any luck so far.
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- In explaining his philosophy on roster-building to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com, Falcons owner Arthur Blank indicated that he prefers his team to make most of its major moves in the offseason rather than during the season.
- While the Giants will miss Jon Beason, there shouldn’t be much of a step down at middle linebacker when the team plugs in Jameel McClain, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. As Raanan observes, the Giants signed Beason to a three-year deal in the offseason, but given his frequent battles with injuries, the club could look to get out of the contract this winter.
- In a separate NJ.com piece, Raanan writes that the Giants don’t seem particularly interested in signing any of their players to in-season extensions. That includes top defenders Jason Pierre-Paul and Antrel Rolle, whose contracts expire at season’s end.
- According to David Newton of ESPN.com (Twitter links), Panthers coach Ron Rivera said today that placing linebacker Chase Blackburn on injured reserve was a tough move and that he doesn’t think Blackburn will require surgery on his injured knee.
King On Lynch, Fairley, Martin, Pats
Let’s check out some of the highlights from Peter King’s weekly MMQB column..
- King agrees with ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and feels that this is the end for Marshawn Lynch in Seattle. However, he doesn’t see him getting moved by Tuesday’s deadline unless the Seahawks are blown away by an offer. Even a team desperate for a running back isn’t going to give the Seahawks anything like the third-round pick that they would need to start considering a deal, King opines. Lynch is set to earn $6.5MM in 2015 but Seattle might cut him loose instead.
- The Lions initially believed that defensive tackle Nick Fairley hadn’t suffered a season-ending knee injury in London on Sunday, but King is now hearing that the injury is bad. Fairley’s MRI results should be in later today.
- King notes that on NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast, Mike Florio noted that the Patriots could be in the market for Buccaneers running back Doug Martin. Martin is in the midst of a down year and injured his ankle yesterday.
- John Brown was the Cardinals‘ hero on Sunday and that may have surprised some, but not Cardinals GM Steve Keim. When Keim traded the No. 20 pick in the draft to New Orleans for the Nos. 27 and 91, he was hoping and praying Brown would fall to him at No. 91. Brown, who doesn’t have a big program pedigree, was available, and it would appear that the Cards made one heck of a selection.
Minor Moves: Saturday
Here are today’s minor transactions, with the latest updates at the top of the list:
- The Raiders are set to activate cornerback D.J. Hayden, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The No. 12 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Hayden played in eight games as a rookie and started two. The club has filled their other remaining vacancy by signing defensive end Denico Autry to the active roster, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
- The Rams placed Brandon McGee on the injured reserve with a foot injury while replacing him with Jemea Thomas from the practice squad, tweets Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. McGee hasn’t played since Week 2.
- The Dolphins announced (on Twitter) that they have waived wide receiver Damian Williams to make space for Jordan.
- The Dolphins are moving defensive end Dion Jordan to the active roster today, tweets Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. There’s no word yet on a corresponding move, but they’ll have to cut someone to make space. Jordan was recently reinstated from his six-game suspension.
- The Cardinals signed wide receiver Solomon Patton to their practice squad while cutting fellow WR Jalen Saunders, tweets Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com.
- The Ravens waived tight end Ryan Taylor and promoted fellow tight end Phillip Supernaw from the practice squad, tweets Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com.
- The Lions announced that they have suspended defensive tackle C.J. Mosley for two weeks for conduct detrimental to the team and subsquently sent him home from London earlier today. To fill his spot, Detroit has signed safety Jerome Couplin from the practice squad, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (on Twitter).
- In addition to center Daniel Kilgore, the 49ers have also placed cornerback Chris Cook on the injured reserve. The team has signed safety Bubba Ventrone to fill one of the two roster spots.
- The Jaguars have cut wide receiver Tavarres King and signed cornerback Peyton Thompson, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. The writer adds that the move was made as insurance in case injured cornerback Dwayne Gratz can’t play this weekend.
- Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot tweets that center Nick McDonald was activated from the Browns‘ non-football injury list. To make room on the roster, the team waived tight end Gerell Robinson.
NFC Notes: Cobb, Griffen, Orakpo, Coaches
Randall Cobb started the 2014 season a little slow, and he admits that his frame of mind may have played a role in his lackluster production during the first three games. “The mental side of things is very important,” Cobb told Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. “I think I was pressing a little bit too much early on this season, trying to do too much instead of just being myself and doing what I do. Just relaxing and playing ball.” Cobb, playing under the final year of his rookie deal with the Packers, also allowed that his contact situation played into his slow start. “I mean, it definitely had something to do with it,” Cobb said when asked about his contract status. “But I think I found peace mentally, and that’s the biggest thing, having that peace and being able to not worry about those things.” I profiled the 24-year-old Cobb as a extension candidate a few weeks ago, and projected that he could receive a contract in line with Golden Tate‘s, five-year, $31MM deal. Here’s more from the NFC.
- Many NFL observers panned the Vikings’ decision to re-sign defensive end Everson Griffen to a five-year contract worth $42.5MM, but as Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes, the 2007 fourth-round pick has been worth the money so far. Griffen has already registered seven sacks, and Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required) say that he’s an excellent run defender.
- In a piece for the Sporting News, Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap writes that Washington linebacker Brian Orakpo is the latest victim of the evolution of franchise tag use. Per Fitzgerald, clubs simply use the tag as a way to keep players to whom they don’t want to commit. When a player gets injured during his franchise tag season, as Orakpo did, the player is forced to sign a bargain basement deal the next offseason, à la Henry Melton and Anthony Spencer.
- Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell are among the top head coaching candidates in the league, according to Greg Gabriel of the National Football Post.