NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/30/15
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: DE/OLB Xzavier Dickson (Twitter link via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution)
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: G Leon Brown (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun)
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE Manasseh Garner, S Phillip Thomas (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com)
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: RB Daryl Richardson (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal)
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DE Michael McAdoo (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
- Signed: CB Brandon McGee (Twitter link via Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Houston Texans
- Signed: CB Robert Nelson (Twitter link via Wilson)
New England Patriots
- Signed: FB Joey Iosefa (link via Doug Kyed of NESN.com)
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: FB Toben Opurum (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of the Times-Picayune)
New York Giants
- Signed: LB Glenn Carson, CB T.J. Heath (Twitter link via Jordan Raanan of NJ.com)
San Diego Chargers
- Signed: CB Richard Crawford (Twitter link via Wilson)
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Justin Hamilton (Twitter link via The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: S Gerod Holliman, CB C.J. Roberts, CB Joel Ross (press release via team)
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/30/15
Here are Wednesday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, as teams get their rosters set for Week 17:
- The Colts made a pair of tight end transactions, placing Dwayne Allen (calf) on season-ending injured reserve and promoting Erik Swoope from their practice squad, per Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). A fourth-year man, Allen made 16 catches in 13 games for the Colts this season. He hasn’t been able to match the production he put up as a rookie in 2011 in terms of receptions (45) and yardage (521), but he did amass a career-best eight touchdowns last season.
- The Patriots waived cornerback Troy Hill, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss (Twitter link). The Pats claimed Hill off waivers from Cincinnati last week. In addition, they signed defensive tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
- The 49ers have been awarded tight end Je’Ron Hamm off waivers, a day after he was cut by Washington, according to a Niners release. San Francisco moved running back Shaun Draughn to injured reserve to accommodate the waiver claim — Draughn joins fellow RBs Reggie Bush and Carlos Hyde on the Niners’ IR.
- The Bills created two roster spots on Tuesday by placing Charles Clay and Ron Brooks on injured reserve, and filled those spots today with a pair of practice squad cornerbacks. As Joe Buscaglia of WKBW tweets, head coach Rex Ryan confirmed that Buffalo elevated Merrill Noel and Sammy Seamster from the team’s taxi squad.
- The Chargers also added secondary depth today, signing safety Brandian Ross and cornerback Cassius Vaughn to their active roster, according to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). The club has now added three defensive backs to its 53-man squad this week.
- After placing Dez Bryant and two other players on injured reserve today, the Cowboys have promoted wide receivers Rodney Smith and Vince Mayle from their practice squad, and also signed cornerback Josh Thomas, per Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).
- The Broncos are signing guard Robert Myers off the Ravens‘ practice squad to fill the 53rd spot on their roster, reports Mike Klis of 9News. That roster opening was created on Tuesday when Denver cut safety Shaun Prater.
- According to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (Twitter link), offensive lineman Braxston Cave has been promoted from the Lions‘ practice squad to their active roster, taking the spot vacated by cornerback Bill Bentley, who was cut on Tuesday.
AFC Notes: Manziel, Osemele, McKelvin, Allen
Browns head coach Mike Pettine said earlier this week that the team was considering disciplining quarterback Johnny Manziel for a video that featured him guzzling a black cherry Four Loko – an alcoholic drink – on Christmas Eve. After further review, Pettine stated Wednesday that he wouldn’t have benched Manziel this week, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports. That’s moot now, of course, as Manziel is out with a concussion. Still, given that Manziel spent 73 days in rehab for alcohol issues last offseason and the Browns benched him earlier this season when a different party video surfaced, the organization finds this latest incident concerning, according to Cabot.
Here’s more from the AFC:
- Ravens left tackle Kelechi Osemele is a candidate to hit free agency this offseason, but the 26-year-old is confident about staying in Baltimore after a chat he had with general manager Ozzie Newsome. “He was really positive about it,” Osemele said, per Clifton Brown of CSNMidAtlantic.com. “I was positive about staying. I think we’ve done great work here, and obviously working with someone like that, you want to stay. You want to be around a guy like Ozzie.” Osemele went on to state that “I know if we can get a deal done, we will.”
- If the Bills cut veteran cornerback Leodis McKelvin in the offseason, they’ll open up $3.9MM of cap room in 2016. That makes his departure a strong possibility, but the eight-year veteran seems open to a pay cut if it means staying in Buffalo. “I have a lot of money in the bank,” he told Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News, also adding that he’s willing to move to safety if necessary.
- Like McKelvin, Colts tight end Dwayne Allen could also be in a different uniform next year. Allen, whom Indy placed on IR with a calf injury Wednesday, wasn’t happy with his diminished role in the team’s passing game this season, according to Mike Chappell of Fox59 (Twitter link). As a pending free agent, it seems Allen has played his last game as a Colt.
Bills Owner: Ryan, Whaley To Return In 2016
Bills owner Terry Pegula has released a statement in which he essentially confirms that head coach Rex Ryan and general manager Doug Whaley will remain with the team for the 2016 season. While Ryan’s job had been considered fairly safe after just one year, there have been rumors that neither he nor Whaley was totally safe, but Pegula issued a strong vote of confidence for the duo today.
“Kim [Pegula], Russ [Brandon], and I look forward to working and collaborating with Doug Whaley and Rex Ryan in forming a winning future for the organization,” Pegula said (Twitter link). “Our management team and coaching staff are very capable and work well together. This stable foundation is necessary to achieve long-term success in the NFL.”
Pegula prefaced that statement by acknowledging that the Bills feel their expectations for the 2015 season were not met, so Ryan and Whaley will likely be under pressure to field a playoff team in 2016. For now though, it doesn’t appear there will be major changes in Buffalo.
Pegula’s statement comes on the heels of Bill Polian indicating that he’s not interested in leaving ESPN to take on a formal role within the Bills’ front office, despite informally offering suggestions and feedback to Pegula. It’s not clear whether or not the Bills owner had interest in officially adding Polian to his team’s front office.
Bill Polian Not Interested In Formal Role With Bills
Former NFL general manager and current ESPN analyst Bill Polian is happy to offer suggestions and ideas for how to improve the Bills, as he did last week, but he isn’t interested in any sort of formal role in the team’s front office, he tells John Murphy of BuffaloBills.com.
“Anything I could do to help in any way, I would,” Polian said on Tuesday. “But any kind of a formal role is absolutely precluded. Nor am I seeking that. I’m very happy with what I’m doing at ESPN.”
While there were indications last week that Polian might consider a consulting role with the Bills, he made it clear to Murphy that he’ll only talk to Buffalo or any another NFL team about football matters on an informal basis.
“There was a question later on which related to consulting, and which I misunderstood,” Polian said. “The committee on which I serve, the NFL Personnel Development Committee, has members – Charley Casserly, Ron Wolf, Ernie Accorsi – who frequently serve as consultants to teams when they go through the hiring process. And I made it clear that even though some teams have asked me to do that in the past, I can’t do it because of the terms of my ESPN contract. That prohibits me from doing that.”
Given Polian’s history with the Bills and his relationship with team owner Terry Pegula, rumors and reports have frequently linked the Hall of Fame NFL executive to Buffalo. A year ago, there were indications that the Bills talked to Polian about bringing him aboard either in an advisory role or as a top front office executive, but he ultimately decided to stay at ESPN. While Polian doesn’t plan on officially joining the Bills anytime soon, he still wants to see the franchise succeed.
“If anybody asks, sure. If anyone has questions, I’m happy to answer and happy to help in any way I can. And that includes whatever I could do for the community,” Polian said, referring to his conversations with Pegula. “I’m going to make a speech this spring in the community. Things I can do along those lines, I’m very happy to do. I want the Bills to do well. That’s the overarching message — I want the Bills to do well.”
Bills Notes: Carpenter, Gillislee, Harvin, Easley
Bills coach Rex Ryan indicated that he has some pause about keeping kicker Dan Carpenter for next season, although it would take a worthy replacement to push him off the roster, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com writes. Carpenter has now missed five extra points on the season.
After converting 91.7% of his field goals upon arriving in Buffalo in 2013, Carpenter signed a four-year extension in March 2014 that included $2.15MM in guaranteed money. The Bills can save $1.7625MM by cutting Carpenter after this season, including a $250K roster bonus that they can avoid paying if he’s released prior to the seventh day of the 2016 league year.
As Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News details, Ryan provided a few more noteworthy tidbits on the Bills this week, so let’s round them up…
- Ryan expects running back Mike Gillislee to be a part of next year’s roster. “Without question, he’s a guy, him, Karlos [Williams], LeSean McCoy, we’re in good hands there” Ryan said. “Maybe we look to expand his role on special teams. Could be something we look into.”
- Asked about Percy Harvin, Ryan said he has talked to the wide receiver once and texted with him a few times and “gets the sense” he wants to play. There were rumors earlier in the season that Harvin was contemplating retirement.
- Wide receiver Marcus Easley was placed on injured reserve by the Bills this week, and it sounds like he’ll have a long road back to full health. Calling the knee injury a “major, major” one, Ryan explained that Easley dislocated his knee cap and broke his knee in three spots.
Bills Place Charles Clay On IR
The Bills have placed a pair of players on the injured reserve list, announcing today that they’re sending tight end Charles Clay and cornerback Ron Brooks to IR (Twitter link via Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News).
After inking a massive five-year contract with the Bills in the offseason, Clay was limited to 13 games this year, as he battled knee and back issues. In his first season in Buffalo, Clay caught 51 balls for 528 yards and three touchdowns. Those numbers look similar to the ones he posted in 2014 in Miami – 58 receptions, 605 yards, three TDs – but the Bills were likely expecting more production from the veteran tight end after inking him to a $38MM offer sheet.
With a $10MM roster bonus owed to him in 2016, Clay will likely have his contract restructured in the offseason, but he’s not going anywhere for now, since that money is fully guaranteed.
As for Brooks, the defensive back who contributes primarily on special teams will be eligible for free agency at season’s end, so he may have played his last game with the Bills. His 2015 season came to an early end due to a neck injury.
Bills GM Doug Whaley On Rex Ryan, Offseason
In an interview with WGR 550, Bills GM Doug Whaley touched on a wide range of topics, including his offseason plans and his relationship with coach Rex Ryan. Here’s a look at some of the highlights, courtesy of The Buffalo News’ Tyler Dunne.
On his relationship with team ownership and Ryan:
Ownership is great. My relationship with Rex Ryan is something I cherish. I wake up every day happy to come into work with him. With my future, it’s one of those things where the ownership doesn’t have to tell me anything. I’ve always attacked my job as, ‘Let me do my job, not to lose it. But to keep it and keep getting better.’ So until the ownership tells me my keys don’t work, I’m here for the long haul and I’m here to get this team where we need to go.
On whether the Bills could draft a QB:
I look at it this way, I have to give credit to our scouting staff because the philosophy into this draft is we’ll draft the best player available. That’s why we think we were so successful. We didn’t see a perceived need or push somebody up and draft on need. Going into this draft, there is no position you can’t argue that we should or shouldn’t draft. So it opens up the board for us and let’s us scout with what we call ‘clear eyes’ instead of ‘needy eyes.’ And that helps us be a lot more successful. So to answer your question, there is nothing that would preclude us from taking any position on the board. That could be quarterback, that could be tight end, wide receiver, all across the board we could use an [influx] of young, talented depth.
On what this QB draft class looks like:
Right now, with the seniors, it’s not particularly top heavy but it is particularly deep. I think there’s a lot of quarterbacks you can get rounds two through six that have a chance to grow and progress into a solid No. 2 and possibly a No. 1 with time and seasoning.
On the areas he’ll be targeting this offseason:
With the injuries in the secondary, especially at the safety position, I’m not going to give you a total blueprint because I know people listen and it’d put us at a competitive disadvantage. But we have to get some depth in the secondary. We have to get some depth at the linebacker position. And some of the injuries like Powell, Ty Powell was out, that hurt us. A little more depth at the outside position with Jarius Wynn coming back.
And I just think an impact player on defense, like we brought in impact players on offense last year. So I think that’s what we’re going to look for, is just the best players available that’ll help us get to where we need to go on the defensive side of the ball.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/29/15
Today’s minor NFL signings, cuts, and other moves:
- The Patriots announced that they have released running back Joey Iosefa. Iosefa lasted only two weeks on the club’s active roster. He saw 14 carries against the Titans in Week 15 and ran for only 51 yards. His spot has ostensibly been usurped by the recently-added Steven Jackson.
- The Giants announced that they have placed 2014 fifth-rounder Devon Kennard on injured reserve. Kennard, who also missed four games last season, has 58 tackles to his credit for Big Blue.
- The Steelers placed fullback Roosevelt Nix on injured reserve, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The Steelers also announced that they have promoted linebacker L.J. Fort to the active roster.
- The Bills placed Marcus Easley on IR, as Wilson tweets. Back in March of 2015, the special teamer inked a four-year pact worth $7MM with the Bills. A sizable chunk of that money – $2.2MM – was guaranteed.
- Texans cornerback Charles James will be placed on injured reserve after suffering a season-ending foot injury, Wilson tweets.
- The Chargers announced that they have claimed tight end Asante Cleveland off waivers from the Patriots.
Bills Claim WR Leonard Hankerson
The Bills have claimed former Falcons wide receiver Leonard Hankerson, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Hankerson was waived by the Patriots on December 26th, making his stay in New England a short one.
The five-year veteran joined the Patriots recently after being cut from the Falcons injured reserve list. The 26-year-old was active for the team’s victory over the Titans, but he didn’t earn a single target in the contest. In eight games for the Falcons this season, Hankerson compiled 26 catches for 327 yards and three touchdowns. The receiver’s best season came in 2012 with Washington, when he caught 38 passes for 543 yards and three touchdowns.
Hankerson is set to become a free agent at the end of the season. It remains to be seen what the former third-rounder can do for the 7-8 Bills in their season finale against the Jets, but the fact that the Falcons and Pats each cut him without an injury designation suggests that he is mostly healthy.