Minor Moves: Friday
Since Fridays are relatively quiet days for in-season NFL transactions, we’ll round up today’s minor 53-man roster changes and practice squad signings and cuts in the same space. Here’s the latest:
- After having lost Josh Mauro to the Cardinals, the Steelers filled their newly-opened practice squad spot by re-adding defensive lineman Ethan Hemer to their practice squad, tweets Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Hemer returns to the unit after having been cut earlier this month.
- Linebacker Jeremy Grable, who was just added to the Buccaneers‘ practice squad on Wednesday, has been placed on the squad’s IR list, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com, who adds (via Twitter) that punter Jacob Schum has replaced Grable.
Kraft: Pats Want To Lock Up Revis Long-Term
Asked earlier this week if he plans to remain with the Patriots beyond this season, when he figures to hit free agency, cornerback Darrelle Revis smiled and replied, “Ask Bill [Belichick].” It doesn’t seem as if the Pats head coach has weighed in on the subject since then – and if he did he likely wouldn’t say much – but owner Robert Kraft tells Jim Corbett of USA Today that he wants to see the standout cornerback stay in New England beyond 2014.
“He likes what he sees here. And I know we like having him here,” Kraft said. “We’ll just have to see if we can do some long-term business. That’s what we really want to do. Let’s get through the season and see what happens.”
Revis, who leads Patriots cornerbacks with a +6.6 grade this season, according to Pro Football Focus’ data (subscription required), has signed lucrative contracts in each of the last two seasons, though neither was necessarily designed to be a long-term pact. The cornerback’s deal with Tampa Bay was a year-to-year agreement with no prorated bonus money, allowing the team to cut him after just one season, while his current deal with the Pats will likely result in him hitting the open market again this winter. Having played for the Jets, Bucs, and Patriots since 2012, Revis could land on his fourth team in four years in 2015, though I expect he’ll strongly consider any offer the Pats make.
Revis technically remains under contract with New England through the 2015 season, but his deal includes a $12MM roster bonus for ’15, plus a $7.5MM base salary, with a total cap hit of $25MM. So even if the Pats manage to work out a new agreement with the 29-year-old, it would likely involve scrapping the second and final year of his current pact.
Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday
As usual, plenty of practice squad players are on the move again this week, being signed, cut, or promoted as teams prepare for Week 11 games. Here are Wednesday’s latest practice squad additions and subtractions:
- Per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Twitter), linebacker D.J. Smith has joined the Browns‘ practice squad, replacing fellow linebacker Allen Bradford, who was signed by the Seahawks’ active roster today.
- A day after being cut by the Jaguars, cornerback Peyton Thompson has cleared waivers and re-signed with the team’s practice squad, tweets John Oehser of Jaguars.com.
- The Ravens have replaced tight end Phillip Supernaw, who signed with the Chiefs earlier this week, with tight end Konrad Reuland, per Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
Earlier updates:
- The Seahawks have added fullback Stanley Havili to their practice squad, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.
- After promoting linebacker Max Bullough to their active roster, the Texans got their practice squad back up to the maximum 10 players by signing former Central Florida tackle Chris Martin, according to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
- The Buccaneers have filled the two openings on their practice squad by signing linebacker Jeremy Grable and offensive lineman Jeremiah Warren, both of whom have previously been with the team, tweets Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com.
- Another club with two openings on its taxi squad has also filled them — the Bears announced today (via Twitter) that wide receiver B.J. Cunningham and guard Antoine McClain have signed with the team.
- The Cardinals have swapped out an offensive player for a defender, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com, who tweets that the team has signed cornerback Darren Woodard to its practice squad to replace running back Zach Bauman.
- After seeing tight end Rashaun Allen signed off their practice squad by the Seahawks, the Vikings have filled the newly-created vacancy by re-adding tight end Ryan Otten, per Ben Goessling of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
AFC Notes: Dolphins, Hoyer, Broncos, Bills
The margin for error for Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin is “quickly approaching zero,” writes Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. A loss this week to the Bills would make it extremely difficult for Miami to make the playoffs, and the next seven games could determine the fate of several of the club’s coaches and players.
Pointing out that a half-dozen of the Dolphins’ starters are eligible to hit the open market in March, Beasley suggests the team hasn’t made much of an effort to lock up any of these prospective free agents. One reason for that may be that there’s no guarantee the same front office and coaching staff will be in place by March. As Beasley rhetorically asks: “Why green-light a multiyear deal for Charles Clay if you’re not sure whoever’s coaching the Dolphins in 2015 wants Clay on their team?”
Here’s more on the Dolphins, as well as a few other AFC teams:
- Within the aforementioned piece, Beasley also writes that Philbin won’t necessarily lose his job if the Dolphins miss out on the playoffs. However, the team would probably have to finish with a winning record and show signs of trending upward.
- The Browns have an opportunity to get a deal done with quarterback Brian Hoyer in the wake of Carson Palmer‘s season-ending ACL injury, argues Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Florio suggests that Hoyer, who had a season-ending ACL injury of his own last year, may be more inclined to secure some guaranteed money after seeing what happened to Palmer, and speculates that perhaps something in the neighborhood of two years and $18MM (fully guaranteed) would work for both sides. That sort of contract may look modest, but I doubt Hoyer will get much more fully guaranteed money than that on a longer-term deal.
- Joel Corry of CBSSports.com touches upon the Browns‘ quarterback situation in his look at several contract predicaments teams will face this offseason. The Broncos‘ franchise tag decision and the Bills‘ defensive line issue are among the other dilemmas he addresses.
- Jets head coach Rex Ryan expects a strong second half from his team, and knows that without one, he’ll almost certainly be looking for work this winter. “I need every [win] I can get,” Ryan said, according to Danny Knobler of ESPNNewYork.com.
Saints Sign Brian Leonard, Cut Two
4:19pm: Linebacker Todd Davis has also been waived by the Saints, tweets Triplett. That should make room for Morgan and leave the team with the standard 53 players.
1:38pm: The Saints have placed rookie safety Vinnie Sunseri on injured reserve, tweets Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. While that could be the corresponding move for Leonard’s signing, the team will have to subtract one more player from its roster to also accommodate the return of suspended receiver Joe Morgan, whose roster exemption expires today.
11:29am: After working out for the team yesterday, free agent running back Brian Leonard appears set to sign with the Saints. Agent Mike McCartney announced today, via Twitter, that he’s “excited” for his client to join the club.
A seven-year veteran, Leonard has appeared in 87 games for the Rams, Bengals, and Buccaneers since being selected in the second round of the 2007 draft. Last season in Tampa Bay, the veteran back carried the ball 47 times for 182 yards, adding 29 receptions for 179 yards.
Running backs Pierre Thomas and Khiry Robinson have been out of the Saints’ lineup in recent weeks, and while the two backs were thought to be on the road to recovery, the addition of Leonard suggests they aren’t ready to return to the field quite yet. Backup running back Edwin Baker also left Sunday’s game with a concussion, further thinning out New Orleans’ backfield.
The Saints will need to make a corresponding roster move to make the signing of Leonard official.
Minor Moves: Wednesday
As teams make minor adjustments to the backs of their 53-man rosters, we’ll keep tabs on today’s minor moves right here, with the latest transactions added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Texans have maxed out their active roster at 53 players once again, promoting linebacker Max Bullough from their practice squad to fill their final opening, tweets Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle. Bullough represents a replacement for veteran linebacker Zac Diles, who was cut by the team yesterday.
Earlier updates:
- On the heels of waiving safety Jerome Couplin yesterday, the Bills have made a corresponding roster move, announcing in a press release that they’ve promoted defensive end Bryan Johnson from their practice squad to their active roster. The addition of Johnson may signal that injured defensive end Jarius Wynn won’t be able to play in tomorrow night’s game against the Dolphins.
- The Buccaneers have filled their open roster spot by promoting cornerback C.J. Wilson from the practice squad, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (Twitter link). The team created that opening yesterday by sending rookie guard Kadeem Edwards to the injured reserve list.
Seahawks Place Zach Miller On IR
The Seahawks are placing veteran tight end Zach Miller on injured reserve, ending his season, head coach Pete Carroll confirmed today to reporters, including Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). Miller underwent a procedure on his ankle following the team’s Week 3 game and has been sidelined since then, despite remaining on the active roster until now. He’ll have to undergo a second surgery, Carroll indicated today.
Miller, a former Pro Bowler, has been with the Seahawks since 2011, catching 102 balls over that span and serving as the club’s top tight end. He accepted a pay cut earlier this year, restructuring his deal to reduce his 2014 and 2015 base salaries. While that move saved his roster spot this season, it’s not clear whether he remains in Seattle’s plans beyond this year.
In Miller’s absence, Luke Willson, Cooper Helfet, and Tony Moeaki have been the Seahawks’ primary tight ends, and Carroll singled out Moeaki today as a player who will have to step up now that the club’s starting tight end is out for the year (Twitter link via Condotta).
The Seahawks already added another tight end to the roster earlier this week, signing Rashaun Allen from off the Vikings’ practice squad. So to replace Miller, the team has gone another direction, poaching a player from another club’s practice squad — per Condotta (via Twitter), Carroll said today that Seattle has signed linebacker Allen Bradford, who had been on the Browns’ practice squad for the majority of the season.
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The NFL’s regular season is entering its home stretch, which means the 2015 offseason is just around the corner. As the winter nears and big-name players like Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas approach free agency, there will be plenty of notable stories to track on Pro Football Rumors, and you don’t necessarily have to keep refreshing our site to keep tabs on them. There are a handful of different ways you can follow us to get the latest updates on NFL news and rumors all year.
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Giants Place Michael Cox On IR, Sign Darkwa
The Giants have made a change to their 53-man roster, placing running back Michael Cox on injured reserve and signing another running back, Orleans Darkwa, off the Dolphins’ practice squad to replace Cox, the team announced today in a press release. Cox suffered a fractured lower leg during the fourth quarter of the Giants’ loss to the Seahawks on Sunday.
Cox, who turns 25 this week, joined the Giants in 2013 as a seventh-round draft pick out of Massachusetts. In his year and a half with in New York, Cox has 26 rush attempts for 76 yards, five receptions for 21 yards, and has occasionally handled kick returns for the club as well. As for Darkwa, he has spent time on both the Dolphins’ active roster and practice squad this season after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent out of Tulane.
The Giants also updated their practice squad, announcing the release of safety Kyle Sebetic, which was first reported yesterday. Cornerback Josh Victorian, who worked out for the team this week, has been added to the unit to fill the 10th and final slot.
Jones: Cowboys Made Dez “Really Nice” Offers
As negotiations on a long-term contract continue between the Cowboys and Dez Bryant‘s camp, the team’s two primary decision-makers spoke to reporters, including Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News, about the situation. Both owner Jerry Jones and chief operating officer Stephen Jones expressed optimism that the Cowboys will eventually work out a long-term extension with their star wide receiver, downplaying recent reports about potential concerns about his maturity.
“What we want to do is have an agreement for the rest of Dez’s career,” Jerry Jones said. “To me, that says a lot about the concern about off-the-field [issues] if we want him on the Dallas Cowboys for the rest of his career. … I’m real impressed with how he’s evolved over the last several years, or we wouldn’t be in serious contract negotiations with him. So I think all of that is where it really is, and I do look for us to get something done with Dez.”
Meanwhile, Stephen Jones indicated that the team has offered Bryant “some really nice contracts.” Of course, it’s fair to assume that the team’s definition of a “really nice” offer may not match up with the wideout’s definition. Based on reports to date, it appears the Cowboys are attempting to lock up Bryant to a contract structured similarly to the extension signed by left tackle Tyron Smith earlier this year.
Smith’s deal is lucrative — if he plays it out, he’ll end up earning more than $100MM. However, it’s also extremely team-friendly, locking Smith up through the 2023 season with plenty of outs for the Cowboys, but none for the player himself. All of Smith’s guaranteed money will be paid by the time the 2015 season ends, meaning Dallas would essentially have club options on him for the next eight years. As Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets, Bryant would be better off being franchised for the next two years than accepting an offer like that.
Of course, Bryant has already suggested he’d be “highly disappointed” if the Cowboys used their franchise tag on him. Still, it’s something Dallas will have to strongly consider, especially if the team intends to sign running back DeMarco Murray to a multiyear extension of his own. As Machota outlines in a second Morning News article, Jerry Jones said he feels the team can “absolutely” bring both offensive weapons back, and if that’s the case, it seems unlikely that both players would get long-term deals. However, Stephen Jones pointed out that the club certainly isn’t preparing to use its franchise tag quite yet.
“The furthest thing from our mind is the franchise tag,” Stephen Jones said. “If you ask me about that, I know we have the use of it. It’s business. But our intentions are to sign Dez to a long-term contract.”