Browns Down To 53
The Browns have officially cut down to a 53-man roster, according to a team announcement.
The team’s cuts include receivers Taylor Gabriel and Marlon Moore. Undrafted out of Abilene Christian in 2014, the 5-foot-8, 176-pound Gabriel appeared in 29 of a possible 32 regular-season games with the Browns and started four. He amassed 64 receptions for 862 yards and a touchdown during that time, with most of those numbers coming as a rookie. Gabriel caught 36 passes on 72 targets and averaged a prolific 17.1 yards per reception in his first year, but that figure fell to a paltry 8.6 on his 28 grabs in 2015.
Moore, a six-year veteran, previously saw action with the Dolphins and 49ers before joining the Browns last season. He pulled in only seven receptions in 14 games in Cleveland.
The full list is below.
Released:
- WR Marlon Moore
Waived:
- DL Kenton Adeyemi
- DL Chigbo Anunoby
- DB Pierre Desir
- RB Jahwan Edwards
- DB Mikell Everette
- OL Dan France
- WR Taylor Gabriel
- DB Charles Gaines
- OL Garth Gerhart
- TE Connor Hamlett
- TE J.P. Holtz
- WR Darius Jennings
- OL Kaleb Johnson
- OL Mike Matthews
- LB Jason Neill
- DB Eric Patterson
- P Kasey Redfern
- LB Justin Tuggle
Jets To Keep Four QBs
The Jets are likely to retain all four of their quarterbacks, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). That means roster spots will go to Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, Bryce Petty and rookie Christian Hackenberg.
As the starter, Fitzpatrick was a shoo-in all along. So was Hackenberg, whom the Jets chose in the second round of this year’s draft. Questions surrounded Smith and Petty, though cutting or trading the former would have left the Jets without an experienced backup. Petty, meanwhile, was a fourth-rounder just a year ago, so it’s not surprising that New York is hesitant to move on from him. He did leave the Jets’ preseason finale with a bruised shoulder, but head coach Todd Bowles said afterward that he didn’t suffer any structural damage.
Chargers Cut 10 Players
The Chargers have cut 10 players in advance of Saturday’s 53-man roster deadline, per Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Click here for the Twitter links):
- OG Vi Teofilo
- OL Marcel Jones
- WR DeAndre Reaves
- TE Matt Weiser
- TE Tim Semisch
- DL Kamal Johnson
- DL Chuka Ndulue
- LB James Ross
- CB Richard Crawford
- DB Larry Scott
Seahawks To Release Jahri Evans
The Seahawks will release guard Jahri Evans, reports Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). Evans inked a one-year deal with just $80K in guarantees last month, so moving on from him won’t be difficult for Seattle from a financial standpoint.
Despite his successful 10-year career in New Orleans, where he started in all 153 of his appearances and earned four first-team All-Pro nods, Evans garnered minimal interest after the Saints released him in February. Evans only logged 11 appearances last year as a result of arthroscopic knee surgery, though his performance during an abbreviated campaign earned him plaudits from Pro Football Focus. Nevertheless, the 33-year-old didn’t do enough this summer to carve out a role in Seattle, which appears poised to start Mark Glowinski and first-round pick German Ifedi at the two guard positions.
Evans is the second prominent veteran the Seahawks will move on from this weekend, joining defensive tackle Sealver Siliga. The Seahawks reached an injury settlement with Siliga earlier Friday.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Seahawks, Siliga Reach Injury Settlement
The Seahawks have reached an injury settlement with defensive tackle Sealver Siliga, according to his agency, DEC Management (Twitter link). Seattle placed Siliga on IR with a calf injury Tuesday, but he should be healthy and in search of employment soon, per DEC.
Siliga, 26, joined the Seahawks on a one-year, $1.4MM deal featuring $250K in guarantees back in March. He spent the previous three years in New England, where he started in 13 of 25 regular-season appearances and was part of a team that beat the Seahawks in the Super Bowl to conclude the 2013-14 campaign. For his career, which also includes a one-game appearance with the Broncos in 2012, Siliga has totaled 96 tackles, 5.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
Packers Cut Multiple Players
The roster trimming has begun early in Green Bay. Here are the Packers’ first few moves as they work toward the 53-man limit:
Waived/Injured:
- TE Mitchell Henry (Twitter link via Jason Wilde of ESPN.com)
Waived:
- CB Warren Gatewood (Twitter link via Michael Cohen of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- QB Marquise Williams
Rams Cut Several Players
The Rams have begun cutting players prior to Saturday’s 53-man roster deadline. Unless otherwise specified, names come courtesy of Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Here’s the list:
- WR Austin Hill (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com)
- WR Duke Williams
- TE Justice Cunningham
- DE Morgan Fox
- DL Ian Seau (Twitter link via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com)
- DB Rohan Gaines
The longest-tenured pro of the group is Cunningham, who had been with the Rams organization since 2013. He made just three appearances with the club, though, and his only career reception came with the Colts. Notably, Seau is the nephew of Pro Football Hall of Famer Junior Seau. Ian Seau signed with the Rams this year as an undrafted free agent from Nevada.
Vikings Cut Brad Sorensen
The Vikings have cut quarterback Brad Sorensen, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link via Ben Goessling of ESPN). This is the second time this week the Vikings have cut Sorensen, whom they re-signed Tuesday in the wake of Teddy Bridgewater‘s season-ending torn ACL.
Sorensen, 28, was a seventh-round draft choice of the Chargers back in 2013. Although he’s bounced around quite a bit during his four-year NFL career, Sorensen has never thrown a pass or even appeared in a game since entering the league. Even on the heels of Bridgewater’s injury, Minnesota didn’t think Sorensen was worth a roster spot. His exit leaves the club with undrafted rookie Joel Stave behind journeyman Shaun Hill on the Vikings’ QB depth chart.
Ravens To Waive Keenan Reynolds
The Ravens are going to waive rookie receiver Keenan Reynolds, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Baltimore telegraphed the move by working out receiver/returner Devin Hester earlier Friday, Rapoport notes.
Reynolds, an ex-Navy standout, went in the sixth round of this year’s draft after a standout career as a dual-threat college quarterback. Reynolds is obligated to serve in the military as per his agreement with the Naval Academy, but Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter gave him special clearance after the draft to defer his service. However, Reynolds was unable to do enough in Baltimore to land a roster spot.
Latest on Raiders, Las Vegas
In preparing for potential relocation, the Raiders filed for three trademarks to the phrase “Las Vegas Raiders” earlier this week, reports Darren Rovell of ESPN. The trademarks would give the Raiders the exclusive right to use the name for sporting events and sell it on merchandise.
The Raiders aren’t the first to seek the “Las Vegas Raiders” trademark, according to Rovell, who writes that six filings have previously been made for it. Further, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reviews each filing from oldest to newest, so the Raiders will have to wait in line. Those who filed before the Raiders would likely have to make a case that their filing isn’t related to the team, adds Rovell.
Of course, in order for the trademark to matter, the Raiders will have to find a place to play in Las Vegas. Representatives from two proposed stadium backers – Majestic Realty and the Las Vegas Sands casino company – are zeroing in on a pair of potential sites just west of the Las Vegas Strip, per the Associated Press. However, the representatives declared Thursday that they won’t accept any less than a record $750MM in public funding toward a new stadium. Their insistence comes as a result of the increase in cost to build the facility. The proposal for a 65,000-seat domed stadium was initially estimated at $1.45 billion, but it’s now up to $1.9 billion. The Raiders previously expressed a willingness to contribute $500MM to the cause.
“If we can’t get 750, we respectfully thank you but we’re going to move on,” stated Sands president Rob Goldstein.
Public funding toward the stadium would come primarily from an increase in a Las Vegas-area hotel room tax, and Goldstein said it would be a “negligible” cost for those staying in hotels. However, Steve Hill – chair of the oversight committee and head of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development – isn’t open to the idea.
“The public is not making a contribution to a privately owned stadium,” Hill commented.
For his part, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid has been quiet about whether taxpayers should help fund a stadium, but he does think “it would be great” if the Raiders relocated to Las Vegas (via the San Francisco Chronicle). In order for that to happen, they’ll need a stadium to call home and three-fourths approval from NFL owners.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.