Ravens Waive Franks, Claim Danny Gorrer
4:47pm: The Ravens have claimed cornerback Danny Gorrer off waivers from the Lions to replace Franks, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
4:45pm: The Ravens continue to shake up a secondary that allowed six passing touchdowns to Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers on Sunday night. After announcing earlier today that they’ve cut cornerback Chykie Brown, the Ravens have now parted ways with a second veteran cornerback, Dominique Franks, per a team release.
Franks, who turned 27 last month, spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Falcons, contributing on defense, in kick and punt coverage, and occasionally returning punts as well. In four games with the Ravens this year, Franks logged 203 defensive snaps, and performed reasonably well until Sunday night, when he was scorched by Roethlisberger along with the rest of the Baltimore secondary.
The move leaves the Ravens with an open spot on their 53-man roster. That opening figures to be filled by a cornerback, since, as Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com observes (via Twitter), Lardarius Webb is now the one healthy corner with NFL experience on the roster.
Ravens Add Two Players, Cut Chykie Brown
12:09pm: In addition to confirming the release of Brown, the Ravens have announced three other roster moves. According to a press release, the team has activated defensive tackle Terrence Cody from the physically unable to perform list and promoted rookie cornerback Tramain Jacobs from the practice squad. To create that second opening on the 53-man roster, Baltimore cut tight end Phillip Supernaw.
10:14am: The Ravens gave up six passing touchdowns to Ben Roethlisberger on Sunday night, and now one Baltimore defensive back is seeing the hammer fall. Per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link), the Ravens are releasing cornerback Chykie Brown. A fifth-round pick in 2011, Brown has spent the entirety of his four-year career in Baltimore.
The 27-year-old Brown has played in 46 games over the course of his career, starting two, including this year’s season opener against the Bengals. He’s registered eight tackles on the season, and received mostly negative grades from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) — the more snaps he was forced to play, the worse his production became. It’s possible that Brown is a viable reserve defensive back, but it’s fair to say that he shouldn’t be a starting CB. Because he’s a vested four-year veteran, he won’t have to pass through waivers, meaning he is now a free agent.
It’s a little surprising that the Ravens would cut Brown loose, given that No. 1 corner Jimmy Smith is out for several weeks with a foot injury, while Lardarius Webb is also dealing with health concerns. Nevertheless, Baltimore now has an open roster spot, so look for the club to sign a replacement in the near future.
AFC Notes: Mallett, Clowney, Broncos, Ravens
The Texans lost 31-21 to an Eagles’ team that was led on offense by backup quarterback Mark Sanchez. In Houston, their own backup quarterback made waves after the game, tweeting a message that stirred up unrest among Texans’ fans, according to Ultimate Texans.
“I’m staying focused for when the time comes…seize the opportunity #justwaiting,” wrote Mallett.
The Texans are 4-5 and Ryan Fitzpatrick has been underwhelming as the starting quarterback, leaving Mallet and rookie Tom Savage as options for the team going forward.
Here are some other notes from around the AFC:
- The Texans are growing frustrated with Jadeveon Clowney‘s absence from the field, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). He had missed a number of weeks with a knee injury, and as he is getting healthier, he missed today’s matchup against the Eagles with an illness. The team wants him to be more mature in dealing with his injuries, according to Rapoport (via Twitter).
- The Broncos and Patriots both had themes for their offseasons, writes Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. The Broncos wanted to get tougher on defense, and the Patriots were focused on becoming more physical in the secondary. Those themes dictated the moves each team made all offseason.
- The Ravens are making the most of their free agent acquisitions, with many of their unappreciated signings coming up big for the team through the first half of the season, writes Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Running back Justin Forsett, receiver Steve Smith, and tight end Owen Daniels have all contributed big numbers to the offense so far this year.
AFC Notes: Rice, Colts, Broncos, Gipson
There’s been no indication that a settlement is close in Ray Rice‘s appeal of his indefinite suspension, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The appeal hearing, set to get underway on November 5, will involve the interrogation of commissioner Roger Goodell, so a settlement could give the appearance that Goodell is wary of answering questions under oath, surmises Florio. Additionally, even if Rice is reinstated, the ex-Raven would likely want to compensated for the income he lost during his ban. Ultimately, a settlement appears unlikely, per Florio, though it would be the best outcome for both parties involved. Here’s more from the AFC.
- The Colts held a workout for linebacker Carlos Fields, according to Aaron Wilson of Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Fields, 24, was cut from the Giants’ practice squad three days ago, and given that New York and Indianapolis play on Sunday, it’s possible the Colts attempted to glean some strategical information from Fields. Additionally, Indianapolis listed three LBs on its latest injury report, so Fields could add some depth to a banged up position if signed.
- The Broncos’ next opponent, the Patriots, feature a left-footed punter in Ryan Allen. As such, in what was likely an attempt to practice against a lefty in advance of Sunday’s game, Denver auditioned fellow left-footed punter Michael Palardy, per Wilson (via Twitter).
- Browns safety Tashaun Gipson, the NFL’s current interception leader, is an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and as he tells Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, he’d like to remain with in Cleveland.” I’d love to finish my career playing in this city,” said Gipson. “This is the first organization to give me my opportunity, the first one that took a chance on me, an unheralded guy coming out of Wyoming that nobody wanted to take a chance on.”
AFC Notes: Broncos, Verrett, Jets, Rice
Here are a few Thursday items from around the AFC:
- The Broncos have taken a step forward on the defensive side of the ball this season, and the team’s pass rush has played a significant role in the unit’s improvement. Joan Niesen of TheMMQB.com takes a look at some of Denver’s key defenders, including free agent signee DeMarcus Ware and outside linebacker Von Miller, who will soon be in line for a pricey contract extension.
- Rookie Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett has been diagnosed with a torn labrum, and is expected to miss two or three weeks, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Rapoport indicates that Verrett hopes to play through the injury and perhaps explore surgical options after the season. With Brandon Flowers also ailing, San Diego could look into adding depth at cornerback, though it’s hardly the only position where the team has been hit hard by injuries.
- Geno Smith doesn’t represent the present or the future for the Jets at quarterback, in the view of Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, who suggests that the club needs to move on from its former 39th overall pick and focus on identifying a new QB of the future.
- While Ray Rice likely won’t ever play for the Ravens again, some team will look into signing him eventually. Andrew Brandt of TheMMQB.com examines what a conversation between a general manager and a head coach may look like if the topic of signing the veteran running back surfaces.
Extra Points: Bradshaw, Brown, Cameron, Smith
Colts‘ running back Ahmad Bradshaw is in his second season with the team, but still feels the pain after being released from the Giants after the 2012 season, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. “It didn’t take me long to get over it,” said Bradshaw. “But it hurt me because I felt that was my family, that I was a big part of that time and I still felt I had a lot of football left.” Bradshaw, along with Hakeem Nicks, will return to MetLife Stadium for the first time since leaving the team.
- The NFL has lifted the suspension of another former Giant, free agent running back Andre Brown, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter). Brown received an eight-game ban prior to the season, so even though he hasn’t been on a roster since then, he has been reinstated after eight weeks.
- The Browns are planning to be without star tight end Jordan Cameron for a while, writes Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com. With three concussions in a two-year span, the team expects him to miss at least two games.
- Jets‘ quarterback Geno Smith might have lost his starting job, but he will not be content being regulated to the bench permanently, writes Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com. “I don’t think this is the last of me playing,” Smith said. Cimini writes that the best way to salvage the season would be to salvage Smith.
- Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com wrote that while Jeremy Maclin has already proven to teams he is worth a big contract in free agency, there are a number of players who need a strong second half to justify a high level deal. Among the players at the top of that list are Ravens‘ receiver Torrey Smith, 49ers‘ receiver Michael Crabtree, and Giants‘ defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Practice Squad Updates: Tuesday
They may not be the sort of deadline-day transactions we’re hoping for, but some teams around the league are making roster moves, adding and subtracting players from their respective practice squads. We’ll track the latest updates below:
- The Broncos have added receiver Douglas McNeil to their practice squad, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post. An Arena League standout, the 26-year-old McNeil caught 66 balls for 858 yards and 18 touchdowns in 11 games for the Portland Thunder. He takes the practice squad spot of John Boyett, who was released last week following his arrest for assault.
- The Colts announced receiver Chandler Jones was signed to their practice squad at the expense of running back Jeff Demps. This will be Jones’ second stint with the Colts this season, while Demps’ stay with the team lasted just a week. Jones is an undrafted free agent out of San Jose State, where he is the school’s all-time leading receiver.
- The Giants have cut linebacker Carlos Fields from their practice squad, according to NJ.com’s Jordan Raanan (via Twitter).
- Running back Ben Malena has replaced cornerback Kendall James on the Texans‘ practice squad, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
- The Rams have signed offensive tackle Steven Baker to their taxi squad, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The club had plenty of space to add Baker without cutting a player, but released quarterback Garrett Gilbert from the practice squad nonetheless, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.
- Wideout Tavarres King has signed to the Buccaneers‘ practice squad, says Caplan (via Twitter). The team doesn’t have any openings on its PS, but after today’s trades, there are two spots available on the active roster, so I imagine at least one player is in line for a promotion.
Earlier updates:
- The Dolphins performed a bit of an overhaul on their practice squad today, adding tight end Evan Wilson, tight end Gerell Robinson, and cornerback Rashaan Melvin to replace quarterback Seth Lobato, tight end Jake Murphy, and defensive back Rod Sweeting, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter links).
- With backup running back Stepfan Taylor expected to be sidelined for the near future, the Cardinals have added some backfield insurance via their practice squad, signing running back Zach Bauman, writes Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. Cornerback Anthony Gaitor has been waived to make room for the new addition.
- Wide receiver Jace Davis, who was with the Ravens during training camp and the preseason, has re-signed with the team’s practice squad, according to a press release. Davis takes the 10th and final spot, which had been vacated after tight end Phillip Supernaw was promoted to the active roster on the weekend.
AFC North Notes: Smith, Brown, Allen, Browns
Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith (foot sprain) will be out “at least a few weeks,” writes the Baltimore Sun’s Aaron Wilson, who points to Nov. 24 against the Saints or the following week against the Chargers as possible return dates for Smith. When asked about adding a free-agent cornerback, head coach John Harbaugh said, “We don’t have to. If we can find the right guy, we’ll do that. They are scarce.” Instead, for now, the Ravens will turn to Dominique Franks to replace Smith. The team also has Chykie Brown, who has been inactive the last two games.
In other AFC North news…
- Despite the Ravens stating publicly they don’t intend to go outside the current roster for cornerback help, Wilson tweets the team inquired about Tony Carter of the Broncos prior to the trade deadline.
- The Steelers are another AFC North team with cornerback issues because Cortez Allen, who signed a five-year, $25MM deal before the season, has not only lost his starting job, but is in danger of being inactive, writes Ray Fittipaldo in the Post-Gazette. Head coach Mike Tomlin insists he remains confident in Allen’s abilities, but says the cornerback is leaving too many plays on the field: “[Allen] has to finish opportunities that he’s not getting done. Oftentimes, he is in position because he does a great job getting in position, but position is just an element of it. You have to finish.”
- Fittipaldo also notes the Steelers expect to have right tackle Marcus Gilbert back in the starting lineup. He sat out last week with a concussion.
- Steelers receiver Antonio Brown leads the NFL in receptions and targets, ranks second in receiving yards, is fourth in receiving touchdowns and paces all receivers with a 13.1 grade from Pro Football Focus. In Brown’s case, the stats don’t lie, says Tomlin, who boasted (via the team’s website) that the fifth-year playmaker is performing at an elite level. “He’s one of the best in the world at what he does,” said Tomlin at his weekly news conference. “(Antonio) is physically and mentally on top of his game, and when you have somebody who’s playing like that, you step into a stadium and he’s a known issue but still he performs. We say similar things about guys like J.J. Watt. We knew what he was capable of when we were getting ready to play the Houston Texans, but it still doesn’t stop the storm from coming. Antonio is playing at that type of a level from a wide receiver standpoint, a J.J. Watt discussion kind of a level.”
- The Browns rank last in the NFL in punt returns, which prompted ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi to wonder if Josh Cribbs might get a phone call. However, head coach Mike Pettine quashed any speculation by saying, “Josh’s name hasn’t come up.”
Monday Roundup: Cutler, Trades, Landry
Our Zach Links wrote earlier that Bears GM Phil Emery is not currently thinking about parting ways with head coach Marc Trestman, and Emery and Trestman both reaffirmed their support for embattled quarterback Jay Cutler one day after Chicago’s embarrassing Week 8 loss to the Patriots. As Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com writes, Emery and Trestman remain committed to Cutler, attempting to accentuate the positives in their signal caller’s performances while acknowledging the struggles.
Emery claimed that his club’s decision to stick with Cutler has nothing to do with Cutler’s salary, but ESPN’s John Clayton is understandably skeptical. In his “Clayton Minute” video segment, Clayton says that, given the Bear’s $18MM annual commitment to Cutler, Chicago simply has no other choice than to hope that Cutler can right the ship.
- Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun Times writes that Emery has been approached with “two or three interesting” trade proposals, but nothing that helps the Bears win in 2014. As Emery stated that the team is far from giving up hope on this season.
- Derek Carr is showing tremendous promise and the Browns have to be second-guessing their decision to target Johnny Manziel in the draft instead of him, writes Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer.
- Browns head coach Mike Pettine says that the team’s phones are ringing but cautions that the deadline brings few trades in comparison to the amount of talk that happens, tweets Nate Urlich of the Akron Beacon-Journal.
- Citing ESPN’s Adam Schefter, CSNBaltimore.com staff reports that the league has levied a $1.4MM salary cap charge on the Ravens as a result of Ray Rice‘s grievance against the club. According to Schefter, it is normal practice for the NFL to make such a move when a grievance is pending. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun writes that the cap charge reduces the Ravens’ cap room to about $4.1MM. Baltimore may need to utilize some of that room, as star cornerback Jimmy Smith is expected to miss “a few weeks” with a left foot sprain, according to Garrett Downing of BaltimoreRavens.com.
- Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt said that his club is unlikely to make any more trades,according to Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com (via Twitter).
- The Colts are in no hurry to bring back LaRon Landry after his four-game PED suspension, writes Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star.
- Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com looks at how Jon Beason‘s salary, and the Giants‘ salary cap, will be affected by Beason’s season-ending injury.
Zach Links contributed to this post
Browns Place John Hughes On IR-DTR
Although the Browns did manage a 23-13 victory against the Raiders yesterday, and in doing so, kept pace with the rest of a highly competitive AFC North, it’s not all good news coming out of Cleveland. Per Terry Grossi of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the team has placed defensive end John Hughes on injured reserve/designated to return after he suffered an MCL injury in Sunday’s contest. The Browns filled the open space on their 53-man roster by claiming tight end Ryan Taylor off waivers from the Ravens, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
Now that’s he been slapped with the IR-DTR tag, Hughes can resume practicing in six weeks, and return to game action in eight. Therefore, Hughes will only be able be to play in Cleveland’s Week 17 game against the Steelers, as well as the playoffs (if Cleveland makes the postseason). A Cincinnati product, Hughes has played in 35 games since being selected in the third round of the 2012 draft. He’s started two games this season, and graded out as the league’s 15th-best 3-4 defensive end among 49 qualifiers per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). The loss of Hughes won’t help a Browns defense that already ranks 25th in DVOA, but perhaps former first-round pick Phil Taylor, who will presumably see more snaps in Hughes’ absence, can help fill the void.
Taylor, 26, was a seventh-round pick by the Packers in 2011. After being waived by Green Bay in early October, he was picked up by Baltimore; he was waived once again on October 25. Taylor has been more of a special teams contributor during his career, as he’s caught only eight passes for 45 yards. The fact that the Browns claimed him is interesting, as it could signify that Jordan Cameron won’t be available for Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers after suffering a concussion yesterday.