Minor NFL Transactions: 11/11/15
Here are today’s minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL, with any additional moves listed at the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Eagles (on Twitter) announced that they plan on signing offensive lineman Julian Vandervelde and releasing linebacker Brad Jones.
Earlier updates:
- The Vikings have activated cornerback Josh Robinson from the physically unable to perform list, waiving tight end Chase Ford in a corresponding roster move, writes Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. As Tomasson writes, Ford – who has been with Minnesota since 2012 – took the news well, pointing out that it’s “part of the game” and it’s not his first time being cut.
- Having cut quarterback Kellen Moore, the Cowboys added linebacker Mark Nzeocha to their active roster, per Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link). Nzeocha, who began the season on the non-football injury list, will help add depth to a group of linebackers that has been affected by injuries.
- The Cardinals have waived-injured cornerback Cariel Brooks, elevating cornerback Robert Nelson from their practice squad to fill the empty roster spot, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (Twitter link). Brooks, who is dealing with an ankle issue, played exclusively on special teams during his limited action this season, so Nelson isn’t expected to have a major role either.
- After placing him on the injured reserve list last weekend, Washington has now removed outside linebacker Jackson Jeffcoat from the roster entirely with an injury settlement, tweets Zac Boyer of the Washington Times.
Colts Eyeing Jason Campbell
2:22pm: Even with the Colts pushing to get Campbell to unretire, the veteran quarterback is “highly unlikely” to return to action this season, says Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, adding that Campbell could still make a comeback next year.
1:39pm: With Andrew Luck sidelined for the next few weeks, the Colts are considering their options for adding a quarterback to back up Matt Hasselbeck. According to Pro Football Talk (via Twitter), the Colts’ search for a backup has the team attempting to lure free agent signal-caller Jason Campbell into unretiring. As the PFT report notes, Campbell played for the Browns the year that new Colts offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski was the team’s head coach.
Campbell, who turns 34 next month, was said to be planning on retirement back in June, but he never made the decision official. The veteran QB reportedly received inquiries from at least three teams in the summer, and got a call from the Cowboys when Tony Romo went down.
Over the course of his NFL career, Campbell has appeared in 90 games (79 starts) for Washington, Oakland, Chicago, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. He saw his most extensive action in D.C., where he started 52 contests for Washington after being selected by the club in the first round of the 2005 draft. Most recently, he backed up Andy Dalton with the Bengals in 2014.
While Campbell’s 32-47 career record as a starter isn’t overly impressive, his career stats – including a 60.3% completion percentage, an 81.7 passer rating, and 87 touchdowns to 60 interceptions – are respectable. For a Colts team vying to make the playoffs, he’d likely be a more reliable insurance policy than someone like practice squad quarterback Alex Tanney.
Jets Activate Dee Milliner; Willie Colon To IR
The Jets announced today that one of their starting offensive linemen will be sidelined for the rest of the season, confirming in a press release that right guard Willie Colon has been placed on injured reserve. With the newly-opened roster spot, the team activated cornerback Dee Milliner from IR-DTR.
Colon, who started all 32 of the Jets’ regular season games at right guard in 2013 and 2014, made six starts this year, but is currently on the shelf with a knee injury. It didn’t initially appear as though the injury was significant enough to be a season-ender, but by placing Colon on IR, the club made the decision to move on to backup Brian Winters for the second half.
Having signed a one-year deal with the Jets in March, Colon will now be eligible for free agency again this winter. That doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t be back with the team though — the veteran lineman has now played on three consecutive one-year contracts with New York.
As for Milliner, the former first-round pick returns to the Jets’ active roster after having recovered from a wrist injury. Even with Antonio Cromartie banged up and questionable to play Thursday, Milliner isn’t expected to receive a ton of playing time upon his return, with Buster Skrine or Marcus Williams likely to start opposite Darrelle Revis at cornerback.
Extra Points: Mexico City, Randle, Saunders
A group of league officials will be in Mexico City through Wednesday to determine if Azteca Stadium is prepared to host an NFL game in 2016, tweets Albert Breer of NFL.com. Back in 2005, the Cardinals and 49ers faced off at Azteca in front of a crowd of 100K+, so the league knows that the interest is there.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NFL:
- One team that had been interested in free agent running back Joseph Randle is no longer pursuing him now that he has received a four-game suspension, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com.
- Bears practice squad wide receiver Jalen Saunders has been suspended four games for violating an undisclosed league policy, according to a source that spoke with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Saunders, a fourth-round pick in 2014, was one of several draft choices for the Jets under former GM John Idzik that did not pan out.
- Another wideout, Clyde Gates, has also been suspended four games by the NFL, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Gates, currently a free agent, is also a former Jets receiver, though he started his career with the Dolphins after being selected in the fourth round of the 2011 draft.
- Despite his stellar season so far, TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin will likely transition to the wide receiver position for the NFL draft, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) reports.
- In a piece for CBSSports.com, former agent Joel Corry take a look at players in contract years who are helping or hurting their respective values as they approach free agency.
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap also looks forward to free agency, examining a few quarterbacks who could hit the open market this winter, and identifying some potential trade candidates at the position.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Titans Activate David Cobb, Cut Charlie Whitehurst
The Titans have made a pair of roster moves this morning, announcing in a press release that they’ve activated running back David Cobb to their active roster, waiving quarterback Charlie Whitehurst to make room.
Cobb, 22, was selected in the fifth round of this year’s draft by the Titans, but saw his NFL regular-season debut postponed due to a calf injury. Tennessee placed him on injured reserve with the designation to return, and had to activate him this week in order to get him into the lineup at all this season.
With Antonio Andrews expected to receive most of the Titans’ carries under new head coach Mike Mularkey, Cobb will likely be worked in slowly. Still, with running back Terrance West having been released last week, there’s room for the rookie on the depth chart, and I’d expect him to get a decent share of touches in the second half.
As for Whitehurst, the 10-year NFL veteran served as Zach Mettenberger‘s backup when Marcus Mariota was sidelined, but with Mariota healthy and back in the No. 1 role, Whitehurst was third on the depth chart, rendering him non-essential for now. Assuming Whitehurst hasn’t collected termination pay in the past, he should be eligible to collect his entire $2MM salary for the 2015 season.
Disney CEO Joins Carson Stadium Project
The Chargers and Raiders have reached an agreement for Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger to become the chairman of their bid to build a stadium in Carson, California, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. The Carson stadium group has since confirmed the news, officially announcing it in a press release.
According to La Canfora, the move is a potential game-changer, given Iger’s “world-renowned reputation” in the entertainment business, and his expertise on the Los Angeles market. Iger will oversee all the major initiatives on the project, including stadium design, naming rights, and fan experience, in addition to guiding the construction and operation of the new building.
“We now have the kind of leadership and expertise that should calm any concerns about any NFL teams going into L.A. and getting off on the right foot and pursuing the right course,” said Carson Holdings executive Carmen Policy, per Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times. “And certainly if you’re going to do two teams it really lends a layer of talent and experience, plus unbelievable know-how to the whole effort. … Who could we get better to guarantee fan experience than the man who runs the happiest place on earth?”
Of course, before the Carson project is able to move forward with Iger at the helm, it will have to get approval from the NFL. Prior to this development, the Carson stadium plan already had about 16-20 votes of support, by some owner’s estimates, says La Canfora. It would require the support of 24 of the league’s 32 owners in order to proceed.
Several high-profile team owners are believed to be leaning toward Stan Kroenke‘s Inglewood project, believing that the location may be stronger and expressing confidence in Kroenke’s “exhaustive real estate experience.” However, given Iger’s inclusion in the Carson plan, there’s a chance some of those owners re-evaluate their preference. It’s also worth noting, as Farmer points out, that Iger has a working relationship with many NFL owners, as well as commissioner Roger Goodell.
With meetings taking place this week on Los Angeles relocation, there are plenty of other items to round up related to the Rams, Chargers, Raiders, and L.A. Let’s dive in….
- There’s significant tension between NFL owners over possible Los Angeles relocation, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). The owners of the Raiders and the Chargers believe that the league is pushing for a relocation of the Rams to Inglewood. Meanwhile, Cole says that the Raiders are keeping their possible new L.A. investor under wraps because that individual would be embarrassed if the Raiders are ultimately unsuccessful in their bid to move.
- Kroenke’s proposed Inglewood stadium is facing scrutiny from the Federal Aviation Administration, which has released a preliminary report suggesting that the venue is “presumed to be a hazard to air navigation.” Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times has the details. I wouldn’t expect the FAA’s complaint to be a major deterrent if the NFL decides to move forward with the Inglewood project, but it’s another roadblock to overcome.
- As Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today Sports outlines, despite the fact that Los Angeles is a major market, there’s some skepticism in certain circles that the city could support two NFL franchises after getting by without a single team for so long.
Dennis Pitta Won’t Play This Season
After missing nearly the entire 2013 and 2014 seasons, Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta will sit out for the year again in 2015, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Pitta, who started the season on the PUP list, began practicing three weeks ago, so he would have had to be activated to the 53-man roster today in order to avoid being placed on season-ending IR.
Pitta, who has suffered multiple major hip injuries, has been advised by doctors that it’s not safe to return to the NFL at this point, sources tell Zrebiec. Although Pitta hoped to return anyway, Ravens officials and the coaching staff wanted him to follow the advice of those doctors, to avoid risking re-injury.
While he won’t play this season, Pitta isn’t announcing his retirement from the NFL just yet, suggesting he’s hoping he can make a comeback in 2016. However, his contract with Baltimore will no longer feature any guaranteed money after this season, so his place on the roster won’t be secure, and the 30-year-old has previously suggested his career might be over if he can’t return this season.
Since recording career-best marks in receptions (61), yards (669), and touchdowns (7) in 2012, Pitta has appeared in just seven games for the Ravens, having seeing his career derailed by health issues. It was only about 20 months ago that the Ravens signed Pitta to a five-year, $32MM contract extension, which included $16MM in guaranteed salary. Needless to say, Pitta hasn’t been able to provide much production over the life of that contract so far, and with his cap hit set to jump to $7.2MM next year, he seems unlikely to continue playing in Baltimore.
Andrew Luck Out Two To Six Weeks
WEDNESDAY, 8:02am: The Colts are realistically expecting Luck to be out a month, and are preparing for an even longer absence, a league source tells Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 2:05pm: Colts quarterback Andrew Luck will be sidelined for the next two to six weeks due to a lacerated kidney and a partial tear of an abdominal muscle, the team announced today. With Indianapolis heading into its bye week, Luck may not miss many games, but it’s still a significant blow for a club clinging to a half-game lead in the AFC South.
“It’s way too early to guess how long Andrew will be out,” Chuck Pagano said in a statement. “We’re going to keep listening to the doctors and evaluating his progress on a week by week basis. We’ve got all the confidence in the world in Matt Hasselbeck and we’re not going to put Andrew back out there until he’s healed and ready to go.”
It’s been a rough season so far for Luck, who was sidelined a shoulder injury earlier in the year and reportedly played with broken ribs in recent weeks. The former first overall pick has only won two of his seven starts, having completed just 55.3% of his passes, with 12 interceptions and a career-low 6.4 yards per attempt.
Sunday’s performance against the Broncos was a high point so far in 2015 for both the Colts and Luck, but that victory came at a price. According to Pagano, Luck sustained his injuries early in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, meaning he was able to play through them in order to finish the game.
With Luck sidelined, and expected to recover without requiring surgery, Indianapolis will once again turn to Hasselbeck, who won both of his starts when he filled in for Luck in Weeks 4 and 5. If Luck is unable to return for six weeks, his 40-year-old backup would face the Falcons in Week 11, followed by the Buccaneers, Steelers, Jaguars, and Texans.
Washington Signs Brian De La Puente
Washington has made a roster change on its offensive line, announcing today in a press release that the team has signed veteran center Brian De La Puente, placing center Kory Lichtensteiger on injured reserve with the designation to return.
Lichtensteiger, Washington’s regular starting center since 2014, has missed the team’s past three games due to a neck injury, and the club apparently felt he wasn’t close to returning. Josh LeRibeus has started the last three games for Washington, so we’ll have to see whether he continues to hold that role, or whether De La Puente gets a shot at the job. De La Puente, 30, hasn’t played at all in 2015, but started a total of 50 regular season games for the Saints and Bears between 2011 to 2014.
As for Lichtensteiger, the team’s decision to use its IR-DTR slot on him looks a little odd on the surface — because the short-term IR forces players to sit out eight weeks, the 30-year-old wouldn’t be eligible to return to action until after Week 17, meaning Washington would have to make the postseason for him to play again in 2015. While that doesn’t appear unlikely, the team is only a game and a half back of the Giants in the NFC East, and there’s no harm in using the IR-DTR spot, just in case.
There are now just seven NFL teams that have failed to use their IR-DTR designation this season, as our tracker shows.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/10/15
Earlier today, we learned that the Ravens had signed running back Terrance West to their practice squad, cutting defensive end Nordly Capi to make room. That’s one of a handful of practice squad changes around the league today, so let’s round up the rest….
Chicago Bears
- To be signed: G/T Martin Wallace (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune)
Detroit Lions
- To be signed: T Tyrus Thompson (Twitter link via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press)
- Cut: RB Marion Grice (via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com)
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: DT Eric Crume (press release via team)
- Cut: DT Justin Hamilton
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Dezmen Southward, QB Alex Tanney (press release via team)
- Cut: QB Matt Blanchard, G Kitt O’Brien
New England Patriots
- Signed: OL Keavon Milton, OL Torrian Wilson (press release via team)
- Cut: WR Austin Hill, DB Floyd Raven
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: TE Rashaun Allen (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune)
- Cut: LB Henry Coley
New York Giants
- Signed: LB Nico Johnson, DT Louis Nix (press release via team)
St. Louis Rams
- Signed: LB Matthew Wells (Twitter link via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: S Akeem Davis, DE Martin Ifedi (press release via team)
- Cut: WR Andre Davis
- Placed on PS-IR: DE Ronald Powell