Texans Make Cuts, Close To 53
No one can accuse the Texans of procrastinating. Today, Houston dropped a number of players from the roster in advance of Saturday’s 53-man deadline. Here’s the full list of reported moves thus far: 
- CB Terrance Mitchell (Twitter link via Berman)
- G Karim Barton (Twitter link via Mark Berman of FOX 26)
- WR Wendall Williams
- WR Quenton Bundrage
- TE Anthony Denham (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)
- OLB Tony Washington (Twitter link via Wilson)
- TE Eric Tomlinson (Twitter link via Wilson)
- DE Ufomba Kamalu (Twitter link via Berman)
- G Chad Slade (Twitter link via Berman)
- C Dalton Freeman
- OL Andrew McDonald (Twitter link via Wilson)
- OT Jeff Adams (Twitter link via Berman)
- CB Robert Nelson (Twitter link via Berman)
- RB Kenny Hilliard (Twitter link via Wilson)
- ILB Shakeel Rashad (Twitter link via Berman)
- LB Reshard Cliett (Twitter link via Wilson)
- S Antonio Allen (Twitter link via Berman)
- DE Dan Pettinato (Twitter link via Berman)
Mitchell, a former member of the Cowboys, hooked on with the Texans after he was waived in June. Jason Garrett spoke highly of Mitchell in the spring, but Dallas bounced him in the summer.
Allen, 27, is a former Jet, having spent the past three seasons in New York, where he appeared in 38 games and started 18. He signed a one-year deal that included $80K guaranteed this spring.
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Colin Kaepernick Likely To Make 49ers’ Roster
The 49ers will have some tough choices to make as they cut down to 53, but it sounds like they won’t be wrestling over what to do with Colin Kaepernick. The controversial quarterback is likely to survive tomorrow’s cut deadline, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
Kaepernick has been making headlines for unexpected reasons as of late and he lost his starting job to Blaine Gabbert long ago, even if coach Chip Kelly won’t admit to it publicly. There were rumblings that Kaepernick had fallen behind both offseason pick Christian Ponder and sixth-round rookie Jeff Driskel in the eyes of coaches, but that is apparently not the case. Kaepernick has cemented himself as one of the better QBs on San Francisco’s roster and should remain there for the start of the season.
Kaepernick is due to make $11.9MM via fully guaranteed base salary this season, so dropping him wouldn’t save SF any money. The Niners entertained trade offers for Kaepernick this offseason, including a long flirtation with the Broncos, but they never found a suitable deal.
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Bills Trim Roster To 53
The Bills announced that they’ve moved their roster to 53 players by cutting 21 players. That list of cuts includes notable names like fullback Jerome Felton, linebacker Manny Lawson, versatile cornerback Sterling Moore, and linebacker Randell Johnson.
The Bills will save $2.35MM against the cap by releasing Lawson and $1.55MM by cutting Felton. By freeing up that cash, the Bills will have a little more room to work with as they negotiate a new deal with cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
Felton was signed as a free agent last offseason to a four-year pact worth $9.2MM, with $4MM guaranteed. Considering how the fullback position has been phased out by many NFL teams, that was a steep price to pay for the former Viking. With Minnesota, Felton acted as the lead blocker for Adrian Peterson‘s 2012 MVP campaign, paving the way for Peterson to nearly break the all-time rushing record. Felton himself went to the Pro Bowl that season, and was named second-team All Pro. The team is saving money by dropping the 30-year-old, but his release is also a sign of their confidence in Glenn Gronkowski.
Over the last three seasons, Lawson has appeared in all but one regular season game for the Bills. In 2015, Lawson appeared in every contest and started 14 games, racking up 45 tackles, 1 sack, and 5 pass deflections. Lawson is facing a one-game ban as a result of a domestic violence incident and that was thought to be a big blow in the season opener considering that the team will also be without top rookies Reggie Ragland and Shaq Lawson plus reserve linebacker IK Enemkpali. For one reason or another, the Bills have decided that they are better off without him.
Moore, 26, came over from Tampa Bay during the offseason, and has also spent time with the Patriots, Cowboys, and Raiders. Johnson, meanwhile, has been with Buffalo for the past two seasons, starting one game during that time.
Here is the complete list of cuts:
- FB Jerome Felton
- CB Sterling Moore
- LB Manny Lawson
- LB Randell Johnson (waived/injured)
- TE Blake Annen (waived/injured)
- LB Kroy Biermann
- WR Jarrett Boykin
- CB Mario Butler
- WR Kain Colter
- DT Brandon Deaderick
- DL Lavar Edwards
- RB Boom Herron
- WR Dez Lewis
- OL Marquis Lucas (waived/injured)
- OT Chris Martin
- G Cyril Richardson
- CB Sammy Seamster
- LB Max Valles
- C Fernando Velasco
- DT Casey Walker
- RB James Wilder Jr. (waived/injured)
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Buccaneers Down To 53 Man Roster
The Buccaneers have trimmed down to 53 with more than 24 hours to go before the deadline. According to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times, the following players have been dropped from the roster: 
- CB Javien Elliott
- LB Luke Rhodes
- TE Dan Vitale
- DT Cliff Matthews
- S Kimario McFadden
- RB Russell Hansbrough
- WR Bernard Reedy (waived/injured, per Jenna Laine of ESPN.com on Twitter)
- LB Josh Keyes
- LB Jeremiah George
- LB Micah Awe
- C Ben Gottschalk
- RB Peyton Barber
- WR Kenny Bell (injured)
- WR Freddie Martino
- WR Jonathan Krause
- OL Josh Allen
- OL Kelvin Palmer
- OL Kyler Kerbyson
- DE Kourtnei Brown
- DE A.J. Francis
- DE Isaiah Johnson
- TE Kivon Cartwright (injured)
Among the cuts, Vitale’s is one of the most surprising. The Bucs are planning on carrying five tight ends, yet the sixth-round pick out of Northwestern apparently did not show enough to make the cut. The Bucs will have Cameron Brate, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Luke Stocker, Brandon Myers, and UDFA Alan Cross on the roster to open up the season instead. Myers and Cross were both considered to be on the bubble somewhat, but they have impressed Dirk Koetter & Co. to the point where they are going to carry five tight ends and bounce a sixth-round pick in order to keep both of them. Myers was inactive for the Bucs’ final five games of 2015 as a healthy scratch.
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Texans Cut LB Eric Lee
The Texans have cut outside linebacker Eric Lee, as Mark Berman of FOX 26 tweets. Lee was pursued by a number of teams after going undrafted this year, but the numbers crunch left him on the outside in Houston. 
Lee finished his senior season at South Florida with 45 tackles (12 for loss), five sacks, an interception, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. He had a sack and an interception in the Miami Beach Bowl, and he served as a team captain. He also was a second-team all-conference selection who won the Lee Roy Selmon award as the Bulls’ top defensive lineman.
Lee worked out privately for Texans linebackers coach Mike Vrabel prior to the draft and made a strong impression on him. The Patriots, Bears, Dolphins, and Buccaneers were among the teams interested in the linebacker prior to the draft, so it’s possible that they could be among the clubs with interest in him now that he is available.
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Browns Sign Stephen Paea
Stephen Paea took to Twitter to announce that he is joining up with the Browns. The tweet includes a picture of Paea signing his contract, so the deal appears to be official. 
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. God is good. #DAWGPOUND #Cleveland #Browns,” Paea tweeted.
Paea, 28, was cut by the Redskins this week in an effort to save cash and get down to the NFL’s mandated roster maximum. Paea started just one game for Washington in 2015 after getting 40 starts in his previous three years in Chicago. While his part-time role limited his overall numbers (19 tackles, 2.5 sacks), Paea was solid during his time on the field, ranking as Pro Football Focus‘ 45th interior defensive lineman, out of 128 qualified players.
Paea was slated to earn $3.3MM plus bonuses in 2016, a price that was too high for the Redskins. By cutting him, Washington saved a under $1MM against the cap.
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Lions, Brandon Pettigrew Rework Contract
The Lions and Brandon Pettigrew have agreed to a reworked contract, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com. The new deal gives Pettigrew additional security while he is on the PUP list while saving the Lions some cash once he returns to the field. 
The tight end was previously set to earn a non-guaranteed base salary of $3.65MM for 2016. Now, Pettigrew gets a $2.2MM salary split while he is on PUP with a torn ACL. However, $1.2MM of his contract is fully guaranteed. For each week Pettigrew is on PUP, he’ll earn ~$129K – or, 1/17th of $2.2MM. If and when he is brought on to the 53-man roster, he’ll earn almost $215K, which is 1/17th of $3.65MM.
Pettigrew, 31, is counted upon for his blocking ability. Although he had a decent number of targets early in his career, he has caught only 17 passes for 137 yards over the last two seasons.
When Pettigrew is healthy, he’ll serve as the Lions No. 2 tight end behind Eric Ebron. As shown on the team’s depth chart, they also have undrafted rookie Cole Wick in the mix along with Andrew Quarless, who will be suspended for the first two games of the season. The team will have to decide on fellow tight ends Orson Charles and Adam Fuehne this week.
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Redskins’ Kory Lichtensteiger Takes Pay Cut
The Redskins didn’t get the center they wanted this offseason, but they did convince their incumbent starter to accept a pay cut. Kory Lichtensteiger has agreed to reduce his salary from a $3.25MM base to $2.25MM in 2016, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. However, he can earn that $1.25MM back through incentives. 
Lichtensteiger, 31, missed eleven games last season thanks to a nerve issue in his right arm. He was placed on IR-DTR, but he was not able to take the field for the Redskins’ lone playoff game against the Packers. Prior to 2015, however, Lichtensteiger went three consecutive seasons without missing a start.
The Redskins tried to deal for Patriots center Bryan Stork earlier this offseason, agreeing to send a conditional seventh-round pick to New England for him. The hope was that Stork could push Lichtensteiger for the starting gig, but he wound up failing his physical, which nullified the trade.
Prior to the trade, Lichtensteiger was 13th in the NFL amongst centers in terms of average annual salary. Now, he drops to 18th behind the following players:
- Travis Frederick, Cowboys
- Alex Mack, Falcons
- Mike Pouncey, Dolphins
- Rodney Hudson, Raiders
- Maurkice Pouncey, Steelers
- Ryan Kalil, Panthers
- Nick Mangold, Jets
- Max Unger, Saints
- Eric Wood, Bills
- Jason Kelce, Eagles
- Ben Jones, Titans
- Evan Smith, Buccaneers
- Jeremy Zuttah, Ravens
- Tony Bergstrom, Texans
- Tim Barnes, Rams
- Ryan Kelly, Colts
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Minor NFL Transactions: 9/1/16
Here are today’s minor moves.
- Just a few days after cutting him, the Jaguars have signed wide receiver Shaq Evans, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
- The Lions signed wide receiver Quinshad Davis and waived linebacker Chi Chi Ariguzo, according to a team announcement. Davis was cut by the Lions earlier this week as a part of their effort to get down to a 75-man roster. The North Carolina product hauled in 55 catches for 638 yards and four touchdowns in his senior season last year.
Brandon Marshall On Last Year’s Trade
Last offseason, the Bears continued their rebuilding process by shipping Brandon Marshall and a seventh-round selection to the Jets in exchange for their fifth-round pick. The Bears were looking to go younger, but the trade was also prompted by friction between the veteran and the Chicago front office. This week, Marshall opened up about the trade to Albert Breer of The MMQB. 
Marshall said that he wanted out of Chicago for two reasons. First, his relationship with quarterback Jay Cutler had deteriorated to the point where the two were no longer on the same page. Secondly, the Bears were upset about Marshall’s foray into television and tried to 86 his role on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL.”
“When I sat down with [GM] Ryan Pace and coach John Fox, we met, and I asked, ‘What do you guys think about this?’ It was a big topic,” Marshall said. “And Ryan Pace said, ‘Well, we can do that in the offseason.’ So I was like, ‘Well, what about half the season?’ ‘No.’ ‘What about once or twice?’ ‘No.’ ‘What about bye week?’ ‘No, you can do that in the offseason.’ Right then, I knew I wouldn’t be a Bear anymore, because I think that the business of the NFL is growing every single day, and players are being told to stay in a box and just play football, and we’re missing out on a lot of opportunities, not only to grow as men and businessmen but to experience different things.”
This year, Josh Norman is pushing the precedent set by Marshall as he will appear on FOX during NFL Sundays. The cornerback also accepted the role without running it by head coach Jay Gruden or defensive coordinator Joe Barry.
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