Patriots Extend Jonathan Freeny
Only two games into his contract with the Patriots, linebacker and special-teamer Jonathan Freeny has shown the team enough to earn another year on his deal. According to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the Pats have extended Freeny, tacking another year onto his current contract and locking him up through the 2016 season.
After spending the first four years of his NFL career in Miami, Freeny signed a one-year pact with the Patriots earlier this year, worth $1MM — an $850K base salary, along with a $150K signing bonus. According to Yates, Freeny’s second year will feature a raise, including a $1MM base salary, a $500K signing bonus, and $250K in per-game roster bonuses.
Freeny, 26, won’t see much action on defense for the Patriots unless someone gets hurt — through two games, he has appeared in just two defensive snaps for the team. However, he’s expected to be a key contributor on special teams, having racked up 11 tackles in kick and punt coverage a year ago for the division-rival Dolphins.
Freeny’s new signing bonus will be prorated over this season and next, so his 2015 cap hit will increase a little, while his 2016 cap number will be as high as $1.5MM, depending on how many games he plays this season.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/23/15
Here are the latest practice squad signings and cuts from across the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: TE Joseph Fauria, RB Kerwynn Williams (Twitter links via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com)
Buffalo Bills
- To be signed: QB Dustin Vaughan (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com)
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DE Efe Obada (Twitter link via Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com)
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR/KR Kaelin Clay (link via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press)
- Cut: WR Kendrick Ings
Houston Texans
- Signed: T Edawn Coughman; RB Daryl Richardson (Twitter links via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
- Cut: QB Zac Dysert; T Joseph Treadwell
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: TE Sean McGrath (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle), CB Eric Patterson (via Mike Chappell of FOX59 on Twitter)
- Cut: OL David Arkin
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: WR Damarr Aultman; LB Terrell Manning (Twitter link via Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald)
- Cut: WR Deon Long
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: TE Connor Hamlett (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune)
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: OL Dillon Farrell (link via Associated Press)
- Cut: TE Tevin Westbrook
Workout Notes: 9/23/15
Teams around the NFL are bringing in players for workouts, surveying the free agent landscape for possible practice squad additions or 53-man roster players, either for the near future or down the road. Here are a few of the latest auditions from across the league, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (all links go to Twitter):
AFC:
- Former Broncos cornerback Tony Carter had a workout with the Ravens, who have liked him for a while. Of course, up until very recently, Carter was under contract with Denver.
- In addition to Matt Huffer, whose workout was reported yesterday, offensive linemen Kevin Graf, Antonio Johnson, and Travis Bond, along with defensive ends Matt Conrath and Xzavier Dickson, were among the players who auditioned for the Broncos this week.
- We already heard that the Jets brought in multiple receivers this week for workouts, and we can add a few more names to that list: DaVaris Daniels, Titus Davis, and Josh Lenz got a look from New York.
- It was a linebacker-heavy workout group this week in Jacksonville, as the Jaguars auditioned Jeff Luc, Alex Singleton, and Jordan Tripp, in addition to Jayson DiManche, whose workout was previously reported.
- We can add tight end Nick Kasa, guard Joe Looney, wide receiver Marcus Lucas, ex-Niners tackle Sean Hooey, and former Titans tackle Byron Stingily to the list of players who tried out for the Dolphins this week. We learned yesterday that tight end Adrien Robinson also visited the team.
- The lengthy roster of players who auditioned this week for the Titans: cornerbacks Robert McClain, Robert Steeples, Shaun Prater, and Carrington Byndom; safeties Jean Fanor and Robert Lester; and wide receiver Nick Toon.
NFC:
- The Panthers brought in several defensive backs for tryouts, taking a look at Richard Crawford, Ras-I Dowling, and Tajh Hasson.
- Wide receiver Deonte Thompson turned an audition with the Bears into a practice squad spot this week, but he wasn’t the only player to work out for the team. The club also brought in wide receiver DeVier Posey, quarterback Alex Tanney, and QB Justin Worley.
- The Lions were eyeing veteran defensive backs this week, with ex-Giants safety Stevie Brown, longtime Panthers safety Charles Godfrey, and former Raiders DB Brandian Ross all coming in for auditions. The club also worked out tight end Mickey Shuler.
- Defensive tackle Deandre Coleman, cut from the Dolphins’ practice squad last week, and former Broncos defensive end Quanterus Smith both worked out for the Seahawks this week.
- After being removed from the Patriots’ injured reserve list last week, wide receiver Jonathan Krause tried out for the Eagles.
- Washington auditioned two linebackers who hit the open market within the last few weeks, bringing in ex-Bengal Nico Johnson and former Seahawk Alex Singleton. It’s been a busy week for Singleton, who also worked out for the Jaguars, as noted above.
- The Packers took a look this week at tight end Blake Annen, defensive tackle Justin Hamilton, CFL linebacker Henoc Muamba, and linebacker Josh Shirley.
NFC Notes: Graham, Alonso, Norman
The biggest news out of the NFC today is Kam Chancellor‘s decision to end his holdout and report to the Seahawks, but we’ve got several more items to round up from around the conference, including a couple more updates out of Seattle. Let’s dive in…
- Tight end Jimmy Graham isn’t happy with the role he has had in Seattle’s offense during the season’s first two weeks, and has questioned why the Seahawks would trade for him if they intended to use him like this, says Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report (video link). Freeman expects the team to tweak its offensive approach to get Graham more involved, but if that doesn’t happen, the Pro Bowl tight end could express his unhappiness publicly.
- According to Danny O’Neil of 710 ESPN Seattle, the Seahawks would have released veteran center Max Unger even if he hadn’t been involved in the trade that sent Graham from New Orleans to Seattle.
- Evaluations on whether or not Eagles linebacker Kiko Alonso will be able to play through his knee injury are ongoing, according to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Head coach Chip Kelly said today that Alonso has a sprained knee, which doesn’t contradict a previous report indicating that it’s a partial tear of the linebacker’s ACL.
- Cornerback Josh Norman has been one of the most impressive players on the Panthers in the early part of the 2015 season, and the team may regret not locking him up in the offseason when he was extension-eligible, writes David Newton of ESPN.com. Norman’s price tag is on the rise as he nears the end of his contract, which expires in 2016.
- The lucrative new extension Julio Jones signed with the Falcons in the preseason is paying early dividends for the Falcons, as Orlando D. Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution details.
Reactions To Kam Chancellor Ending Holdout
Word broke this morning that Pro Bowl safety Kam Chancellor is ending his holdout and reporting to the Seahawks, despite not getting a new contract from the team. The two sides still need to sort out whether or not Chancellor will pay all of his fines and return bonus money to the team, and a player will need to be removed from Seattle’s 53-man roster before Chancellor can officially return. But it looks like he could play this weekend against the Bears.
Here are a few reactions and updates on the Chancellor situation:
- Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links) confirm that Chancellor doesn’t have a new deal in place with the Seahawks, and simply decided to report. According to Rapoport, the 27-year-old flew on a private plane from Los Angeles to Seattle this morning.
- As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes, Chancellor racked up $1.1MM in fines, $500K in signing-bonus forfeiture, and about $534K in lost salary, for a total of about $2.134MM in potential lost earnings. The Seahawks could choose not to go after all of that money, and if they do, it could make sense for the club to waive the fines, since they don’t count against the salary cap anyway, tweets Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap.
- One could argue that the Seahawks would be setting a dangerous precedent if they waive all of Chancellor’s fines and don’t go after his signing bonus, since it could encourage others to hold out in the future. But Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) believes that refusing to budge on Chancellor’s contract is a more important precedent — as Corry observes, players won’t be lining up to hold out and miss out on pay checks.
- Still, Corry wouldn’t be surprised if Chancellor requests a trade if the Seahawks don’t meaningfully address his contract in 2016 (Twitter link).
- The Seahawks have received a roster exemption for Chancellor, meaning he can practice with the team without Seattle having to move someone off the 53-man roster for now, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter links). To make him active on game day, the club would have to move Chancellor onto the 53-man roster.
- There’s no doubt that the Seahawks have missed Chancellor on the field, writes Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com in his look at what the safety’s return means for Seattle’s defense.
Kam Chancellor To Report To Seahawks
The final holdout of the 2015 NFL season appears to be coming to an end, according to Adam Schefter and Stephen A. Smith of ESPN (Twitter link), who report that Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor is reporting to the team.
“Ima go help my teammates that are understanding of my position and the ones who aren’t,” Chancellor said in a text message to Smith, according to Schefter. “God forgives all, why can’t i? Time to help us get back to the big dance . I can address business after the season. Me and Marshawn started a mission 2 years ago. I can’t let my Dawg down….Real talk.”
As Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports notes (Twitter links), there are still plenty of issues for Chancellor and the Seahawks to iron out, even if the club doesn’t plan on altering his contract at all. The team has told Chancellor’s agent, Alvin Keels, that they weren’t going to forgive the fines the Pro Bowler has piled up during his holdout, but they’ll likely discuss a possible reduction. To date, Chancellor has forfeited more than $2MM, including lost salary, bonus money, and fines.
After signing a four-year contract extension with the Seahawks in 2013, Chancellor saw his $7MM annual figure surpassed by a handful of safeties in the two years since then, and wanted a raise heading into this season. Reportedly, the 27-year-old hadn’t been seeking any extra money for 2015, but wanted a chunk of 2017 money pushed forward to 2016. The two sides were said to be less than $1MM apart, but with three years still remaining on Chancellor’s deal, GM John Schneider and the Seahawks were reluctant to give in to his demands and set a precedent going forward.
Without Chancellor in their lineup, the Seahawks have started off the season 0-2. Of course, it’s possible that the team would have the same record even with their star safety in the mix, since the schedule began with two tough games in St. Louis and Green Bay. Still, Chancellor’s Week 1 replacement Dion Bailey did get burned for a key touchdown against the Rams.
Assuming Chancellor and the Seahawks are able to reach an accord on the issue of his fines and lost salary, I’d expect him to suit up for the team’s Week 3 contest against the Bears. Before that can happen, the Seahawks will have to clear a spot on the 53-man roster for Chancellor, who had been on the reserve/did not report list.
Browns To Start Josh McCown In Week 3
Last week, reports suggested that the Browns would have played Josh McCown over Johnny Manziel at quarterback if the veteran signal-caller had been medically cleared, and even after Manziel led the team to a Week 2 win over the Titans, it appears that stance hasn’t changed. After passing through the concussion protocol and getting the go-ahead, McCown will start this weekend against the Raiders, the Browns announced today in a press release.
McCown, 36, led the Browns all the way down the field in the team’s opening series of the regular season, completing five of eight passes for 49 yards, and picking up another 23 yards on the ground. However, he suffered a concussion on the very last play of the drive, when he took a big hit while trying to dive into the Jets’ end zone.
Manziel held his own in McCown’s absence, so the leash for the veteran figures to be a little shorter beginning this weekend than it would have been at the start of the season.
In other Browns news, Berea prosecutor Jim Walters won’t be filing charges against offensive line coach Andy Moeller, according to Vince Grzegorek of Cleveland Scene (Twitter link). The Browns suspended Moeller indefinitely earlier this month while he was being investigated for a possible domestic incident.
“It is quite clear an incident of volatile nature took place,” the Berea prosecutor’s office said in a statement, per Grzegorek (Twitter link). “What is less clear is the actions of the two persons involved.”
While Moeller will no longer face charges for the incident, the NFL could still suspend him after conducting its own investigation, so we’ll have to wait and see whether or not he’s reinstated by the Browns.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/22/15
Here are Tuesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: RB Mike Gillislee (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com)
- Cut: TE Brandon Bostick, G Anthony Steen
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Damiere Byrd (Twitter link via David Newton of ESPN.com)
- Cut: LB Brian Blechen
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Deonte Thompson
- Cut: WR Ify Umodu (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune)
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: LB Cam Johnson (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal)
- Cut: DL Kelcy Quarles
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: RB Gus Johnson (Twitter link via Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Indianapolis Colts
- Cut: CB Brandon Dixon (Twitter link via owner Jim Irsay)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: T Tyrus Thompson (Twitter link via agent Ken Sarnoff)
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: RB Rajion Neal (Twitter link via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle)
Philadelphia Eagles
- Cut: WR Quron Pratt (Twitter link via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Cut: WR Rannell Hall (Twitter link via Jenna Laine of Sports Talk Florida)
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/22/15
As usual, plenty of teams around the NFL are shaking up their rosters a little on the Tuesday following a full slate of games. Here are today’s minor moves:
- Cowboys defensive tackle Terrell McClain is done for the season with a badly sprained big toe, reports Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link). Charean Williams of the Star-Telegram adds (via Twitter) that the team has placed McClain on injured reserve.
- The Cardinals have cut running back Kerwynn Williams in order to make room for offensive tackle Bobby Massie, who is returning from a two-game suspension, says Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (Twitter link). We’ll see if Arizona re-adds Williams or another running back to the roster before the club’s Week 3 game, with Andre Ellington likely to be sidelined again. The Cardinals also cut Travis Harvey from injured reserve with an injury settlement, Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post tweets.
- With Jay Cutler injured, the Bears activated quarterback David Fales from the taxi squad to the active roster, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. To make room, the Bears waived Bryce Callahan, Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com tweets.
- Washington linebacker Martrell Spaight, a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft, has been placed on injured reserve due to a concussion, tweets Tarik El-Bashir of CSNMidAtlantic.com. The move opens up a roster spot for reinstated cornerback Chris Culliver.
- Besides Massie, Culliver, and Vikings cornerback Jabari Price, whose reinstatement we noted yesterday, Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell and Chargers offensive lineman Craig Watts are returning from suspensions this week, per Wilson (Twitter link). Pittsburgh and San Diego will have roster exemptions until tomorrow afternoon for those players.
- The Colts have made a change at the cornerback spot, signing veteran free agent Josh Thomas and waiving Eric Patterson, owner Jim Irsay announced today (via Twitter). Perhaps more notably, the team an injury settlement with running back Vick Ballard, officially removing him from the roster. Ballard, who hasn’t played a game since the 2013 season, will become a free agent if and when he clears waivers.
- The Dolphins are signing linebacker and special-teamer Terrell Manning, according to Wilson. The 25-year-old has already appeared in regular season games for five different NFL teams since entering the league in 2012.
- With Austin Seferian-Jenkins set to miss some games, the Buccaneers are signing tight end Cameron Brate off the Saints‘ practice squad, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Brate started the season on Tampa Bay’s taxi squad before he landed on New Orleans’ unit last week.
- The Buccaneers have also have also signed free agent defensive end Josh Martin and waived defensive end Kourtnei Brown, Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune tweets.
- The Ravens waived running back Terrence Magee to open up spot for newly-acquired cornerback Will Davis, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets.
- The Raiders cut Tevin McDonald, Wilson tweets.
Raiders Claim David Amerson Off Waivers
The Raiders have made a change in their secondary, claiming cornerback David Amerson off waivers and adding him to their 53-man roster, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Amerson was cut yesterday by Washington.
Amerson, a second-round pick in 2013, started 23 of the 31 regular season contests he played for Washington during his first two NFL seasons, taking over as one of the team’s starting cornerbacks last season. However, he didn’t play well in 2014, ranking dead last among 108 qualified cornerbacks in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus’ data (subscription required). Per PFF, quarterbacks had a 140.2 rating and 10 touchdowns on 91 throws into Amerson’s coverage.
With Scot McCloughan now running the show in Washington, and some offseason tweaks to the roster, Amerson slid down the depth chart and wasn’t playing a crucial role for the club in the first two games of this season. Chris Culliver is also returning this week from a two-game suspension, making the 23-year-old Amerson even more expendable.
Amerson will get a shot to earn playing time in Oakland, where no cornerback has logged a positive grade so far this season, according to PFF.