Latest NFC Cuts: Vikings, Redskins, Saints
Here are the latest roster moves from around the NFC, as teams pare down their rosters in advance of today’s 75-man deadline:
- The Vikings have reduced their roster to 75 players by cutting tight end Michael Higgins, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Higgins had been signed by Minnesota just over a month ago.
- Wideout Rashad Ross is the latest roster casualty for the Redskins, having been waived this morning, according to Brian McNally of 106.7 The Fan (via Twitter). By our count, that should leave Washington with two more cuts to make before 3:00pm central time today.
- Reports from Ramon Antonio Vargas of The Advocate and Evan Woodbery of the New Orleans Times-Picayune (Twitter links) suggest the Saints will cut a pair of defensive linemen: 2013 sixth-rounder Rufus Johnson and rookie George Uko.
East Notes: Sanchez, Hill, Schwartz, Cowboys
As one of the league’s premier backups, Eagles signal-caller Mark Sanchez figures to be the subject of trade rumors when starting QBs like Sam Bradford go down for the season. However, as he tells Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Sanchez isn’t interested in listening to that sort of speculation.
“I’m an Eagle. I love being an Eagle,” Sanchez said. “There’s a ton of quarterbacks. Talk about someone else.”
Here’s more from around the NFL’s two East divisions:
- With final cuts approaching, some trade chatter is starting to surround Jets wide receiver Stephen Hill. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter) notes that the team has already tried to move Hill this summer, with no takers so far, while Brian Costello of the New York Post (via Twitter) is skeptical that the Jets could get anything for the wideout. On the other hand, one AFC exec tells Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com that he thinks there’d be some interest, since the free agent market for receivers is thin.
- The Giants received some good news on Geoff Schwartz’s foot injury, announcing today in a press release that the guard will be in a walking boot for the next seven to 10 days, then will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis. The timetable suggests that Schwartz will avoid hitting any sort of PUP or IR list.
- Cowboys linebacker DeVonte Holloman tells Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that it was an “easy decision” to retire after sustaining his latest neck injury, though he admitted it’ll be “tough not to be out there” on the field with the team.
- As Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram outlines, Cowboys executive VP Stephen Jones weighed in on position battles at a few key positions in Dallas as the team prepares to cut its roster down to 53 players.
Bills Cut Thad Lewis
After agreeing to sign former Bears quarterback Jordan Palmer, the Bills have cut a signal-caller of their own. Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (via Twitter), the team has released Thad Lewis. I believe Lewis has less than four accrued NFL seasons, which would mean he’ll have to pass through waivers before becoming a free agent, but either way, he’ll no longer be on the Bills’ roster.
Lewis, who was thrust into action last season after E.J. Manuel was sidelined, started five games for the Bills and provided decent production. The 29-year-old completed 59.2% of his passes, compiling 1,092 passing yards, four touchdown passes, and just three interceptions — he also ran for a touchdown.
With injuries starting to pile up and a few uncertain backup quarterback situations out there around the league, Lewis may not be without a job for long. However, teams will be cutting their rosters down to 75 players by this afternoon, and to 53 players by Saturday, so it remains to be seen whether Lewis will get a chance to make the cut on any club’s regular season roster.
With Lewis no longer in the mix in Buffalo, the Bills’ quarterbacks are now Manuel, Palmer, and Jeff Tuel. Additionally, by our count, the club’s roster now sits at 75.
Lions Claim Michael Egnew
3:49pm: The Seahawks also put in a claim on Egnew, according to Pelissero (on Twitter), but the Lions had waiver priority and were awarded the tight end.
MONDAY, 3:22pm: The Lions have claimed Egnew off waivers from the Dolphins, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today, who also reports that Detroit has claimed fellow TE Emil Igwenagu from the Eagles. The Lions are certainly stockpiling tight end talent, as they already have Brandon Pettigrew, Joseph Fauria, and 2014 first-rounder Eric Ebron under contract.
FRIDAY, 2:00pm: With roster cutdown deadlines approaching, the Dolphins will part ways with a player they drafted in the third round just two years ago, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). According to Schefter, Miami is waiving third-year tight end Michael Egnew.
Egnew, 24, was inactive for most of his rookie season, and grabbed just seven balls in 2013 while struggling as a run blocker. The former 78th overall pick out of Missouri also dealt with a concussion earlier in camp. With the Dolphins’ front office having undergone significant changes this offseason, including Dennis Hickey replacing Jeff Ireland as general manager, the organization had less incentive to Egnew around, and has decided to cut its losses.
The move will leave Miami with an opening on its 90-man roster, though it’s not clear if the team will sign a replacement. Rosters must be cut down to 75 players by next Tuesday afternoon.
Justin Houston Expected To Play Out Contract
2:40 PM: Houston’s negotiations could be pushed along if another top pass rusher secures a new contract to set the market, according to Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter). Either the Texans’ J.J. Watt or the Rams’ Robert Quinn could be in line for an extension soon, that would serve as a guideline to the annual salary a terrorizing pass rusher is worth.
12:20 PM: Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston had hoped to sign a new contract with the team before the regular season gets underway, but the two sides remain so far apart in negotiations that there’s virtually no chance of an agreement within the next couple weeks, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). According to La Canfora, Houston will play out his current deal, which expires at season’s end.
Houston, 25, has racked up 21 sacks in 27 games for the Chiefs in the last two seasons, earning spots in consecutive Pro Bowls. The Georgia product ranked as the league’s best all-around 3-4 outside linebacker in 2013, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), scoring positive grades against the run, in pass coverage, and as a pass rusher. However, since he was a third-round pick in 2011 and didn’t have a fifth-year option on his contract, Houston is entering the final year of his rookie contract and will earn a base salary of just $1.4MM in 2014.
La Canfora had previously reported earlier in August that Houston and the Chiefs were far apart in contract talks, so it appears not much progress has been made in recent weeks. As the CBSSports.com scribe notes (via Twitter), quarterback Alex Smith is also still without an extension, so if the Chiefs don’t lock him up either, the team could face a tough decision at year’s end on which player gets the franchise tag.
Donald Stephenson Suspended Four Games
The Chiefs’ offensive line took another hit today, as the team confirmed that offensive lineman Donald Stephenson has been suspended for four games. According to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter), the penalty is for a violation of the league’s policy on performance enhancing substances.
Stephenson, who started 14 of the 32 games he played for the Chiefs in his first two seasons with the team, was penciled in as the team’s starting right tackle heading into the 2014 campaign. Having lost regulars like Branden Albert, Geoff Schwartz, and Jon Asamoah in free agency, Kansas City has some question marks on its line this year, and now will have to incorporate yet another new starter, with Stephenson out of the mix for the first month. Former Texan Ryan Harris, who signed a month ago, looks like he’ll be next in line at right tackle, though the Chiefs’ remaining preseason action should help determine that definitively.
Addressing Stephenson’s suspension, the team released a succinct statement this afternoon: “This morning the NFL notified the team of Donald Stephenson’s four-game suspension. Obviously losing Donald is disappointing, but we are in full compliance with the league’s policy. We will have no further comment on the situation.”
AFC Notes: Burfict, Watt, Howell, Patriots
Typically, when contract agreements are first reported, it takes just a matter of hours before those deals become official. But linebacker Vontaze Burfict, whose extension with the Bengals was reported on Wednesday, has yet to finalize his new contract with the club and has been missing from practice for the last three days with a stomach virus. According to head coach Marvin Lewis, it’s probably just a matter of time until the deal gets formally announced (link via Richard Skinner of Cincinnati.com).
“As you know how we believe it here, until the club and the player have signed off, it’s not signed off,” Lewis said. “I would guess we expect him to sign. Obviously the agent believes he has a deal, so, we didn’t release it.”
As we wait for official word on Burfict’s reported extension, let’s check in on a few other items from out of the AFC….
- Joel Corry of the National Football Post breaks down the numbers on the Burfict extension, explaining why the Bengals had leverage in negotiations and why the linebacker made out pretty well.
- In a separate piece for CBSSports.com, Corry takes a look at another extension candidate, J.J. Watt, writing that if Watt and the Texans are going to reach an agreement before the season gets underway, it will probably require the star defender – rather than the team – to relent a little.
- Colts safety Delano Howell has suffered another neck injury, but it shouldn’t be career-ending, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Wells, who says Howell spent part of the week in Minnesota meeting with a specialist.
- The Patriots would benefit if Isaac Sopoaga earns a spot on the Cardinals’ regular season roster, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com, noting that the offsets in Sopoaga’s contract would allow New England to free up $855K in cap space.
- The NFL’s changes to practice squad eligibility criteria mean that a few more Titans are candidates for spots on the squad, writes Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com. I outlined the rules relating to practice squads earlier today.
Practice Squads
In addition to the 53-man rosters each NFL team will carry into the regular season following this month’s cutdown dates, each club will have a practice squad made up of 10 more players. In past seasons, practice squads have been limited to eight players, but the league announced earlier this week that the squads would be expanded to 10 for 2014 and 2015.
Those practice squads will be created in a little over a week. On Sunday, August 31, the claiming period for players waived during final roster cutdowns will end at 11:00am central time, and at that point, teams are free to start signing players to their practice squads.
While practice squad players aren’t eligible to play in regular season games, they practice with their team’s active players during the week, and receive a weekly salary. For the 2014 season, the minimum weekly salary for practice squad players is $6,300, though teams are permitted to offer more than that in an attempt to entice players to sign to their squad rather than join another club.
Practice squad players are under contract, but the fact that they’re not on an active roster means they’re free to sign with another NFL team if the opportunity arises. That new team must add the player to its 53-man active roster, however, and the player will then receive at least three weeks of active-roster salary, even if he’s waived before spending three weeks with the team. If a team signs a player off another club’s practice squad to its active roster and cuts him within three weeks, the team is not allowed to replace that player on its active roster until the three-week period is up. However, if the player clears waivers, he can be added to the team’s practice squad as an extra man until the three-week period expires.
A team cannot sign a player to its practice squad from another team’s practice squad — to go from one practice squad to another, the player must first be cut and clear waivers. Additionally, a team can’t sign a player off another club’s practice squad if the two teams are playing each other next, unless the move occurs at least six days before the game (or 10 days before, if the old club is currently on a bye).
Teams are permitted to elevate practice squad players to their active rosters, but the club must be willing to pay the player at least three weeks’ worth of the minimum salary, and the player would have to clear waivers before being placed back on the practice squad.
There are a number of rules related to eligibility for practice squad players. The squads are generally designed as developmental tools for a club to keep young players around to learn its system, so a team wouldn’t be able to sign a veteran free agent like Asante Samuel to its practice squad. Here are the guidelines for determining whether a player is eligible to be signed to a practice squad:
- A player without an accrued season of NFL experience is eligible for practice squads. An accrued season is defined as having spent at least six games on a team’s active roster, PUP list, or injured reserve list.
- A player with one accrued season can still be eligible for practice squads if he was on his team’s active 46-man roster for fewer than nine games.
- A player can serve up to two years on a practice squad, and is eligible for a third only if his team is carrying a full 53-man roster at all times. A player is considered to have spent a full year on a practice squad if he was on the squad for at least three games.
While the above bullets represent the usual criteria for practice squad eligibility, the changes the NFL announced this week also included some alterations to eligibility that will apply to the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Those changes are as follows:
- A player is now considered to have spent a full year on a practice squad if he was on the squad for at least six games, rather than three.
- Each team is allowed to sign a maximum of two players who have up to two accrued seasons of NFL experience. The usual rules for accrued seasons will apply to the other eight players on the practice squad.
Assuming each of the NFL’s 32 teams carry full practice squads into the regular season, a total of 320 players will be signed to these squads following roster cutdowns next weekend. In most cases, a team’s practice squad will simply be made up of players who have spent training camp and preseason with that club and didn’t make the 53-man roster. However, there may be some instances of teams poaching other clubs’ players. The expanded rosters and altered eligibility guidelines for this season should make things a little interesting as we follow how NFL clubs decide to fill up their practice squads for 2014.
Note: This is a PFR Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to free agency, trades, or other aspects of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Information from Russell Street Report and SBNation.com was used in the creation of this post.
Isaac Redman To Retire Due To Injury
Veteran running back Isaac Redman announced today via Twitter that a spinal cord injury has ended his NFL career. According to the former Steeler, a handful of teams have called to inquire about his status, but orthopedic spine surgeon Dr. Robert Watkins has advised him not to continue playing football.
“Last season I tried my best through a neck injury but I just wasn’t myself on the field,” Redman explained in his statement. “After being released I went [to] Cali to see Dr. Watkins. After two MRIs and a cat scan, he then told me I had suffered a career-ending injury to my spinal cord. … I would like to thank all my fans for the tremendous support throughout my career.”
Redman, 29, spent five seasons with the Steelers, enjoying his best year with the team in 2011. During that season, the Bowie State product ran for 479 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. For his career, Redman accumulated 1,148 rushing yards, 408 receiving yards, and seven total TDs.
East Notes: Henery, Bills, Vick, Cowboys
After spending the last three years as the Eagles‘ kicker, Alex Henery may be losing his grip on the job this preseason, as Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer details. In last night’s preseason game against the Steelers, a day after the Eagles brought aboard another kicker (Cody Parkey), Henery missed a 31-yard attempt.
“I wish I could put my finger on that,” said head coach Chip Kelly, asked if Henery was losing his confidence. “I don’t know what he’s battling. Obviously, you got to make a field goal like that. You got to make it.”
As we wait to see what decision the Eagles make on their kicking situation, let’s round up a few more notes out of the NFL’s two East divisions….
- According to Mike Ozanian of Forbes, Sabres owner Terry Pegula did indeed make the high initial bid for the Bills, but it was significantly lower than previously reported. Ozanian pegs the non-binding figure at $890MM, and says the bids by Jon Bon Jovi‘s group and Donald Trump came in at $820MM and $809MM respectively. The next round of bids could be higher, but Ozanian thinks it may be in the Wilson trust’s best interests to fire Morgan Stanley – the investment bank handling the sale – and to start over.
- Meanwhile, John Kryk of the Toronto Sun writes that Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke, who is reportedly on his way out of the organization, had little to do with the Toronto group’s Bills bid, outside of introducing Bon Jovi and MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum.
- Jenny Vrentas of TheMMQB.com takes a look at Michael Vick‘s situation in New York, where the veteran Jets quarterback seems willing to take a back seat to Geno Smith to start the season. “I’m at a very good place,” Vick said. “Very relaxed. Things are more laid back right now as far as football, and off the field. No stress, no pressure. Even though, when you play football, there is always some sort of pressure. But at this stage of my career, I’m just trying to refresh and regroup and see where it takes me.”
- Referring to the Cowboys‘ linebacker corps, sans Sean Lee, as the “worst in history,” Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News suggests the team will need to keep a close eye on the waiver wire next week and potentially snatch up a player dropped by another club.