Falcons Down To 63
The Falcons announced that they have cut a number of players. Between the announced moves plus the additional reports below, they are now down to 63. The team still has many moves to make between now and tomorrow’s 53-man deadline. The full list (so far) is below.
Released:
- K Shayne Graham (story)
- OT Bryce Harris
Waived:
- DE Nordly Capi
- OT Laurence Gibson
- DE Malliciah Goodman
- DT Cory Johnson
- CB Devonte Johnson
- S Damian Parms
- OL Collin Rahrig
- WR Corey Washington
- LB Matthew Wells
- OLB Tyler Starr (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com)
In between previous stints with the Falcons, Harris previously spent three seasons with New Orleans, seeing action in 34 games with four starts.
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Patriots Audition RB David Cobb
Running back David Cobb was let go by the Titans this week but he may not be out of work for long. The 2015 fifth-round pick worked out for the Patriots today, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (on Twitter). 
The Patriots are not signing Cobb today, but they could circle back to him after checking out their other options on the waiver wire this weekend. Held back by a calf injury last season, Cobb only saw time in seven games. Prior to the season, there was lots of talk about Cobb taking over the Titans’ running game. Cobb is now out to show everyone that he can perform elsewhere now that he is (presumably) healthy.
The Pats, who lost Dion Lewis to injury for at least the first six weeks of the season, have LeGarrette Blount and James White leading the way at running back. Behind them, New England has D.J. Foster, Brandon Bolden, and Tyler Gaffney.
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Broncos Cut Henry Melton
Many of the Broncos’ early cuts today were expected, but Denver has added a big name to the pile. Defensive lineman Henry Melton has been released, according to Mike Klis of 9NEWS (on Twitter). 
[RELATED: Click Here For A Complete List Of All The Broncos’ Cuts Today]
Melton was signed less than two weeks ago to bring depth to a unit that lost Malik Jackson to free agency and Vance Walker to injury. With Derek Wolfe and free agent addition Jared Crick at each end, Melton was expected to offer support on both the outside and interior of the D-Line. That will not be the case, however, and the 29-year-old (30 in October) will look for his next opportunity elsewhere.
Melton was a dominant interior presence during his early career with the Bears, but he has been unable to replicate that play in recent years. The veteran appeared in all 16 games for Tampa Bay last season, playing on roughly half of the Bucs’ defensive snaps. In that time, Melton picked up two sacks, 18 tackles, and recovered two fumbles, but only graded as the league’s No. 101 interior defender among 123 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.
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Cardinals Acquire Marcus Cooper From Chiefs
The Chiefs announced that they’ve dealt cornerback Marcus Cooper to the Cardinals for a pick. In exchange for Cooper, the Cardinals are sending a 2018 seventh-round pick to KC. 
Cooper had fallen down the depth chart in Kansas City and this offseason the Chiefs were planning to move him to safety. Cooper had three interceptions as a rookie but saw his playing time dwindle in each of the last two seasons.
The Cardinals recently lost Mike Jenkins for the season with a torn ACL and Justin Bethel is dealing with a foot issue. On top of that, Brandon Williams and Cariel Brooks both had rough outings in the team’s last preseason game against Denver. The Cardinals have now added a new name to the cornerback mix to help support star Patrick Peterson.
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Extra Points: Broncos, Hillman, Solomon, Jets
When asked about Ronnie Hillman‘s trade value, two NFL GMs told Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that he doesn’t have much because he doesn’t play special teams. The Broncos running back is said to be on the bubble as the 53-man deadline approaches.
Denver has already handed Hillman $600K through a signing bonus and workout bonuses, but his $1.4MM base salary is non-guaranteed. By most accounts, Devontae Booker and Kapri Bibbs have leapfrogged the one-time Broncos starter.
Here’s more from around the NFL on this busy day:
- Former Cleveland outside linebacker Scott Solomon recently worked out for the Chiefs, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Solomon appeared in just two games last season before landing on injured reserve with a knee injury. He was a restricted free agent this offseason and Cleveland initially picked up his $1.671MM tender. Less than one month later, however, he was cut.
- Jonathan Freeny‘s two-year extension with the Patriots is worth $4.1MM, including a $1.3MM signing bonus, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald tweets. He’ll bring cap hits of $1.74MM in ’16, $1.87MM in ’17, and $2.03MM in ’18.
- The Jets worked out former Harvard center Anthony Fabiano on Thursday, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets.
- Long snapper John DePalma is working out for the Seahawks today, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). DePalma was previously in Philly.
Falcons Release Shayne Graham
Shayne Graham‘s stay in Atlanta was short lived. The Falcons have released the veteran kicker, as independent NFL reporter Dov Kleiman tweets. 
Atlanta signed Graham in late August as Matt Bryant struggled with muscle tightness. Graham, 38, has had stints with several NFL teams and this two week stay marked his second trip with the Falcons. Last year, caught on with the Falcons in late November and played in six games, making 11-of-13 field goal tries and all eight of the extra points he attempted. Graham spent the bulk of his career with the Bengals, having played there from 2003-09. He earned a Pro Bowl bid in 2005.
Graham’s release could signal that Bryant is getting ready to return to action. The Falcons also released former Clemson defensive end Malliciah Goodman, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets.
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Chiefs To Cut QB Aaron Murray
The Bills are carrying six safeties, but the Chiefs aren’t crazy enough to carry five quarterbacks. The Chiefs will release quarterback Aaron Murray in advance of Saturday’s 53-man deadline, Mike Florio of PFT tweets. 
The Chiefs have been trying to trade Murray in recent days but they were unable to find a taker for him. After Nick Foles earlier this offseason to serve as Alex Smith‘s primary backup, many expected either Murray or Tyler Bray to get cut. Instead, the Chiefs held on to five quarterbacks through August. With Murray gone, the Chiefs QB depth chart now includes Smith, Foles, fifth-round rookie Kevin Hogan, and Bray.
Murray, 25, has yet to appear in a regular season game. He played his college football at Georgia and was selected in the fifth round of the 2014 draft.
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Broncos Cut Players To Get To 53
The Broncos are making their way to 53. Here’s the list of cuts: 
- CB John Tidwell (via Cameron Wolfe of The Denver Post on Twitter)
- DT Kyle Peko (Twitter link via Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post)
- WR/KR Kalif Raymond (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9NEWS)
- ILB Dwayne Norman (link via Klis)
- CB Taurean Nixon
- DL Eddie Yarbrough (Twitter link via Troy Renck of Denver7)
- RB/FB Juwan Thompson (Twitter link via Klis)
- DL Lars Koht (Twitter link via Klis)
- WR Mose Frazier (Twitter link via Klis)
- OLB Vontarrius Dora
- OLB Sadat Sulleyman (Twitter link via Renck)
- OT Lars Hanson
- OT Justin Murray (Twitter link via Klis)
- DL Henry Melton (story)
- G Robert Myers (via Wolfe on Twitter)
- S Ryan Murphy (Twitter link via Klis)
Thompson, an undrafted free agent, clawed his way on to the 53-man roster in each of the last two season. Unfortunately, he was not able to make the final cut this year thanks to the numbers crunch in the backfield and his lingering injuries. In 2014, the Duke product ran for 272 yards off of 54 carries with three rushing touchdowns. He also added four catches for 25 yards. Last season, Thompson appeared in 15 regular season games but carried the ball only 18 times for 48 yards while adding six catches for 51 yards. Andy Janovich will likely serve as Denver’s fullback with Thompson gone.
Peko got the highest bonus of any undrafted rookie free agent this year so it is a mild surprise to see him cut. The defensive tackle and other players on today’s cut list should find their way to Denver’s taxi squad.
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Bengals Release Jimmy Wilson
The Bengals released safety Jimmy Wilson, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk tweets. The team has since confirmed the move via press release. 
Wilson, 30, appeared in 13 games with San Diego last season before the team released him in December. This offseason, he hooked on with Kansas City and Cincinnati, but both stints were short lived. Since entering the league as a seventh-rounder in 2011, Wilson has played in 73 regular-season games, logged 28 starts, and amassed five interceptions.
With Wilson out of the picture, seventh-round pick Clayton Fedejelem appears poised to take the final safety spot on the Bengals’ roster. The team still has 20+ cuts to make by tomorrow afternoon.
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Patriots DL Rob Ninkovich Suspended Four Games
More bad news for Patriots standout Rob Ninkovich as he has been suspended four games for a violation of the league’s policy on performance enhancing drugs, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. 
“Few things are more important to me than my name and reputation. This might call that into question for some, which has me heartbroken,” the linebacker/defensive end told Reiss. “I don’t want to cut any corners. I want to do things the right way, with high integrity, and that’s what I have always wanted to stand for.”
Ninkovich was already slated to miss several weeks to start the season after suffering a torn triceps injury. Because of that, he is not necessarily missing any additional time. He will, however, be docked roughly 25% of his base salary.
The 32-year-old insists that he would never knowingly take an illegal substance. It is not immediately clear whether he plans to appeal.
“Any supplement I’ve ever used was bought at a store. I was unaware something I bought had a substance in it that would give me a positive test because it wasn’t listed [as an ingredient],” he told ESPN.
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