NFC North Notes: Lions, Bears, Vikings
Let’s round up a few Thursday items from out of the NFC North, where the two preseason favorites – the Packers and Bears – sit at 0-1, looking up at the first-place Lions and Vikings….
- The Lions will have an open roster spot after placing Corey Hilliard and Bill Bentley on injured reserve this week, and while it had been assumed that the opening would be used to add a defensive back, it won’t necessarily be an outside signing. Head coach Jim Caldwell said today that the most likely scenario would have the team promoting a player from its practice squad, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. As Birkett points out (via Twitter), Mohammed Seisay and Nate Ness are the two defensive backs currently on the club’s practice squad.
- Depending on the status of a handful of their injured players, the Bears could make additional roster moves before Sunday, perhaps to add an offensive lineman and/or a wide receiver, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
- The Vikings were among the teams that had players in for workouts this week, auditioning linebackers Steve Beauharnais and Phillip Steward, as well as guard Jon Halapio, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). It’s worth noting that both Beauharnais and Halapio were cut at the end of the preseason by the Patriots, Minnesota’s Week 2 opponent.
Chargers Sign Doug Legursky
12:51pm: The Chargers have officially announced the signing of Legursky in a press release.
11:30am: In the wake of Nick Hardwick‘s season-ending neck injury, the Chargers will add some offensive line depth by signing veteran lineman Doug Legursky to their roster, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Legursky, who spent his first four NFL seasons with the Steelers, made 17 starts in 51 total games for Pittsburgh before joining the Bills for the 2013 season. After starting 11 contests in Buffalo, Legursky was cut loose last month when the team trimmed its roster down from 75 to 53 players. The 28-year-old worked out for the Jets earlier this week, but now has found work in San Diego instead.
The Chargers’ press release announcing that Hardwick was done for the year and would be placed on injured reserve indicated that the club planned to replace its starting center with Rich Ohrnberger, so I would assume he’ll still get the first crack at staking his claim to the job. However, if he struggles, we may see Legursky, who has played both center and guard, given the opportunity to earn some playing time.
Practice Squad Updates: Thursday
We’ll round up Thursday’s news related to teams adding and removing players from their practice squads in this post, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day….
- With Chris Long having been placed on the injured reserve list with the designation to return, the Rams filled his 53-man roster spot by promoting defensive tackle Matt Conrath from their practice squad, according to his agency Eastern Athletics (Twitter link). Defensive end Kourtnei Brown has been added to the team’s practice squad in Conrath’s place, per agency ARN Sports and Entertainment (Twitter link).
- After cutting him from their active roster, the Broncos have re-added wideout Nathan Palmer to their practice squad, the club announced today (Twitter link).
- The Bears have signed wide receiver and kick returner Chris Williams to their practice squad, tweets Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com. Williams, the fourth receiver on Chicago’s practice squad, will take the place of linebacker DeDe Lattimore, who has been cut.
- Defensive lineman Kona Schwenke has been removed from the Chiefs‘ practice squad to make room for newly-added safety Daniel Sorensen, tweets Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. Sorensen has cut from the club’s 53-man roster earlier in the week.
Jabari Greer Announces Retirement
Appearing on ESPN’s First Take this morning, veteran cornerback Jabari Greer announced that he intends to end his NFL career (Twitter link via ESPN). After his appearance on ESPN, Greer confirmed the news on his Twitter account, tweeting, “10 years was a blast! Thank You Lord! #retirement.”
Greer, 32, started his career in 2004 with the Bills as an undrafted free agent, and has appeared in a total of 133 contests (86 starts) for Buffalo and New Orleans since entering the league. A key part of the Saints’ 2009 Super Bowl team, the Tennessee product compiled 13 interceptions and more than 400 tackles during his decade in the NFL.
Released in the offseason after a knee injury cut his 2013 campaign short, Greer said back in July that his rehab was “going really well,” though he wasn’t actively pursuing any opportunities to return to the NFL at the time. “I think my pride and my body have two different things to say about that,” Greer said at the time. “But we’ll see. I mean, God can do anything, man.”
It’s not clear whether Greer is retiring for health reasons or if he simply feels it’s time for him to walk away from the game, but either way, it sounds as if we won’t see him in action on an NFL field again.
South Auditions: Bucs, Titans, Jags, Panthers
Earlier today, we passed along several updates from Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun on AFC and NFC East teams working out free agents, perhaps with an eye on signing some of them later in the season. A handful of teams in the AFC and NFC South have also auditioned players this week, and Wilson has those items as well, via Twitter. Here are the highlights:
- Special teams was an area of focus for the Buccaneers this week, with the team working out long snappers Brandon Hartson and Charley Hughlett, as well as punter Kasey Redfern. Cornerback Derek Cox and running back Lache Seastrunk also tried out for the club.
- Jacob Pedersen, Brett Brackett, and Blake Annen were among the tight ends to work out this week for the Titans, who also auditioned quarterback Alex Tanney.
- In addition to conducting the previously-reported workout for tight end David Paulson, the Jaguars also took a look at tight end Jake Murphy, along with defensive backs Tommie Campbell and Brandon Ghee.
- A pair of interior offensive linemen, Philip Blake and Evan Finkenberg, tried out for the Panthers.
- We’d previously heard about the Colts hosting free agent running back Mikel Leshoure and signing outside linebacker Chris Carter, but Wilson adds one more name to the team’s list of workouts: former Saints edge defender Chidera Uzo-Diribe.
East Auditions: Bills, Pats, Jets, Eagles
While not every NFL team is making adjustments to its 53-man roster this week, many clubs are at least auditioning free agents to get a sense of which players might be worth revisiting later in the season, as injuries begin to take their toll. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun has passed along word of several of those auditions, via Twitter, so let’s take a look at which free agents are working out for teams in the NFL’s two East divisions….
- The Bills tried out quarterback Tajh Boyd, running backs Maurice Hagens and Franklyn Quiteh, wide receiver Jeremy Kelley, tight end Kyle Auffray, tackle Michael Bamiro, linebackers James Davidson and Jerrell Harris, defensive backs Ross Weaver and Junior Mertile, and defensive tackles Jeremy Towns, Derek Landri, and Abe Koroma.
- A handful of defensive players auditioned for the Patriots, including defensive tackles Sione Fua and George Uko, defensive end Brian Sanford, and linebackers Moise Fokou, Chris Young, and Adrian Tracy.
- The Jets took a look at a few special teams players, including punters Bobby Cowan and Jake Dombrowski, along with long snapper Patrick Scales.
- We heard yesterday that the Eagles hosted Eric Winston and Wade Smith, and ultimately decided to sign Smith. The team also had a few other players in: linebackers Brandon Hepburn and Jake Doughty, as well as tackle Tyler Hoover.
- Wide receiver Devon Wylie and defensive back Keelan Johnson worked out for the Cowboys.
- Finally, a long list of players tried out for the Redskins this week. We’ve heard a few names reported already, but there are plenty of new ones from Wilson, including defensive tackles Isaako Aaitui and Ricky Heimuli, and wide receivers Marcus Davis, Chris Matthews, Mike Davis, Je’Ron Hamm, and L’Damian Washington.
Latest On Ray Rice Incident
9:59pm: Goodell announced that former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III will conduct an independent investigation on the Rice incident, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Mueller’s investigation will be overseen by NFL owners John Mara of the Giants and Art Rooney of the Steelers, and the final report will be made public (link).
The league has hired independent investigators for conflicts in the past, including the Jonathan Martin/Richie Incognito case of last year and Chris Kluwe‘s situation with the Vikings.
7:06pm: Senate Commerce Committee chairman Jay Rockefeller is mobilizing members to hold hearings on the NFL domestic violence issue, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (on Twitter).
6:15pm: When asked how the NFL will look into the new report from the AP, a source told Norah O’Donnell of CBS (on Twitter) that the league’s “security department will be doing everything we can to determine if this is true.” An NFL exec told O’Donnell (link) that the AP report doesn’t contradict what Goodell said but “if there’s a delivery sitting under someone’s desk there will be consequences.”
6:13pm: A source tells Mark Maske of the Washington Post (on Twitter) that Goodell remains adamant that he won’t resign.
5:56pm: According to Josh Margolin, Darren Rovell, and Aaron Katersky of ABC News, the Revel casino told the Ravens to ask Rice’s lawyer for a copy of the video, but the team never followed through on that.
Meanwhile, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, team president Dick Cass, and GM Ozzie Newsome sat down with Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun and discussed the situation. Cass detailed the organization’s efforts to obtain a copy of the video, which included calling the casino, the prosecutor’s office and the New Jersey state police. Rice’s lawyer, however, was not in that list of people contacted for the footage.
4:07pm: On the heels of commissioner Roger Goodell issuing a memo to team owners and execs reiterating that the league was unable to view or obtain the elevator footage of Ray Rice‘s attack on his then-fiancée, a law enforcement official now says that he sent an NFL executive a copy of the video in April, writes Rob Maaddi of The Associated Press.
According to the AP report, the law enforcement official played a 12-second voicemail from an NFL office number in which a female voice confirms the video arrived, expresses thanks, and says, “You’re right. It’s terrible.” Although the law enforcement official wasn’t legally authorized to released the video, he tells the AP that he shared it with the NFL because he wanted the league to see it before deciding on Rice’s punishment.
Goodell and league officials have repeatedly stated that they tried to view the elevator footage, requesting it from multiple police departments, but were unable to obtain it. In the wake of the AP’s report, an NFL spokesman tells Mike Garafalo of FOX Sports (Twitter link) that the league has “no knowledge” of anyone from its office viewing the video, and will “look into” the matter.
Needless to say, it would be a significant blow for the NFL and for Goodell if it turns out league executives had indeed viewed the recently-leaked video months ago. While a seemingly half-hearted and unsuccessful attempt to obtain the video reflects poorly on the NFL, it would be far more damaging for league officials if they viewed the footage, decided on merely a two-game suspension for Rice, and then tried to cover their tracks this week by lying about what they knew.
AFC Notes: Spiller, Brown, Patterson
Heading into Week 2, Raiders coach Dennis Allen is expecting to see a significant step forward from rookie quarterback Derek Carr, writes Nate Stuhlbarg of CSNBayArea.com. “He’s got a tremendous skill set,” Allen said. “And he’s going to do nothing but get better the more opportunity he gets.” Last week, Carr threw for two touchdowns on 20-of-32 passing accuracy against the Jets. Here’s more from the AFC..
- We heard yesterday that the Bills and C.J. Spiller‘s reps have discussed a new contract for the running back, but a source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (TwitLonger link) that those talks were just “introductory and preliminary” in nature, with no actual numbers exchanged. Still, the club would like to get something done with Spiller before the end of the league year in March.
- While there had been some hope that linebacker Zach Brown could be placed on injured reserve with the designation to return, it appears he’ll head straight to IR, ending his season, Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt said today (Twitter link via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com). With Brown no longer in the mix for this year, the Titans are working out free agent linebacker Justin Staples this Friday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
- An explosive wide receiver like Cordarrelle Patterson would look good on the Patriots‘ roster, and New England had an opportunity to draft him in 2013, but ultimately traded the first-round pick for four lower selections. With a matchup against the Vikings on this weekend’s slate, Pats head coach Bill Belichick said today that he has no regrets about the trade that landed Patterson in Minnesota, as Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune details.
Latest On Drug Policy Talks
7:08pm: The NFLPA hasn’t received the league’s response to the latest edits on the drug policy, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. With a game tomorrow, a vote amongst team reps is now unlikely before Friday.
1:43pm: There has been significant positive movement toward an agreement between the NFL and NFLPA on a new drug policy for the league, according to Albert Breer and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (Twitter link), who report that the league has dropped its request for discipline upon DUI arrests (without due process). The team player representatives are expected to spend the next 24 hours reviewing the details of the NFL’s latest proposal, and if all goes well, they should conduct a vote before Sunday (Twitter link).
While the DUI issue appears to have been tentatively resolved, there are still a couple areas of contention, according to Breer and Rapoport. The two sides have yet to agree upon the HGH testing protocol and neutral arbitration on appeals — the union’s lawyers flagged language in those two areas that had been modified in the league’s most recent proposal, and that was enough to force the team player reps to postpone a vote on whether or not to approve the new policy (Twitter links).
Still, there are a number of areas which have not been divisive and have essentially been agreed upon, including the idea of revisiting all player suspensions for the 2014 league year relating to the drug policy (Twitter link). If the new policy is approved this week, players like Wes Welker and Orlando Scandrick – who were suspended for 2014 violations – would likely be able to play as soon as this Sunday (Twitter link). Those suspensions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but Welker’s and Scandrick’s bans were based on a part of the policy which will be modified to make penalties less punitive, so they should be retroactively wiped out.
Of course, not all current suspensions will be so cut-and-dried; Breer and Rapoport point to Josh Gordon‘s case as one that will be a little more complicated (Twitter link). An agreement on a new drug policy would mean revisiting all suspensions levied since the new league year began on March 11, 2014, but while failed tests like Welker’s and Scandrick’s actually took place this year, Gordon failed his test last season. So even though the Browns wideout wasn’t disciplined until this year, the new policy may not apply to his suspension.
However, until a new plan is approved and until we hear exactly what it entails, we’re still in wait-and-see mode. For now, it appears that the NFLPA is moving toward voting on the NFL’s proposal, perhaps as early as tonight, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post (Twitter link).
Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday
We’ll track many of Wednesday’s practice squad updates right here, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:
- The Browns signed offensive lineman Ryan Seymour to the practice squad and released fellow offensive lineman James Brown from the practice squad to make room, according to Nate Ulrich of the Beacon Journal (on Twitter).
- The Eagles have filled the final opening on their practice squad by signing wideout Cobi Hamilton, the team announced today (Twitter link). Hamilton was selected by the Bengals in the sixth round of the 2013 draft, but was cut by the team before this season.
- Cornerback Onterio McCalebb and tight end Ryan Otten have joined the Bengals‘ practice squad, filling out the final two spots on the unit, according to the team (Twitter link).
- The Panthers have brought back offensive lineman Derek Dennis for their practice squad, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Dennis was a roster casualty when Carolina trimmed its roster down to 53 players at the end of the preseason.