Minor NFL Transactions: 12/11/15
We’ll track the day’s minor transactions here, with the newest updates appearing at the top of the list:
- Two days after Rams head coach Jeff Fisher indicated that defensive end Robert Quinn and safety T.J. McDonald would be placed on injured reserve, McDonald has officially landed on IR, with the team promoting cornerback Eric Patterson from its practice squad to take the newly-opened roster spot (Twitter link via Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). For now, Quinn remains on the active roster.
- As Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com observes (via Twitter), Raiders practice squad defensive lineman Leon Orr tweeted today that he’s being elevated to the 53-man roster. Oakland will likely make that promotion – as well as a corresponding move – official tomorrow.
- The Patriots cut running back Trey Williams, who was claimed off waivers from Dallas earlier this month, as Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald tweets. Williams officially got word of his release on Thursday, just a day before he turned 23.
- The Bills promoted linebacker A.J. Tarpley to the 53-man roster while placing linebacker Tony Steward on injured reserve, tweets Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News. A back injury sidelined Steward last Sunday, bringing his rookie season to an early end.
Bills Safety Aaron Williams Mulling Retirement
Bills safety Aaron Williams, who has been sidelined since Week 2 with a neck injury, is mulling retirement, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Williams returned to Bills practice on Thursday with an eye on returning this season, but it’s not a certainty that he will. Whatever Williams does on the practice field and in live action this year will apparently be a litmus test for whether he will continue in 2016 and beyond.
While at practice on Thursday, Williams revealed that he underwent a “procedure” on his neck about a month ago and doctors cautioned him that his playing days may be over. The veteran indicated that his first hit upon returning will give him an idea of what his next step will be.
Williams is technically eligible to play on Sunday against the Eagles, but that remains highly unlikely. When asked to handicap the likelihood that Williams will return at all in 2015, coach Rex Ryan said the odds are probably 50/50, as Rodak writes. Williams, 25, suffered a very scary neck injury in Week 2 but made it back on to the field in Week 5. Unfortunately, he was not back at 100% and he was given the team’s IR-DTR designation days later.
Williams inked a four-year extension with the Bills back in March of 2014 worth a healthy $26MM. At the time, the former second-round pick was coming off of a season in which he grabbed four interceptions and registered 82 tackles, both of which were easily career highs.
Eagles Notes: McCoy, Bradford, Murray
It was one of the most fascinating trades of the NFL offseason, and now it’s the story that just won’t go away: with the Eagles preparing to face the Bills this weekend, Philadelphia’s decision to send LeSean McCoy to Buffalo back in March is a hot topic once again, with McCoy and Chip Kelly among those that have discussed the deal this week.
Continuing to get questions about the trade, Kelly told reporters today that the move was designed to free up cap space, and allowed the team to go after Sam Bradford, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk details.
“We traded an outstanding running back for a linebacker, but we also traded $700K for $11.9MM,” Kelly said. “In this league, sometimes a guy signs a four-year, $45 million contract, but it’s two years at $16 million guaranteed, the rest of it isn’t, and the back end is really high. So you have to make decisions when guys aren’t in guaranteed years about what you’re going to do.
“So however you look at it, whether it gave us an opportunity to get somebody defensively with that extra money, or it gave us an opportunity because we had to free up money to get Sam,” Kelly continued. “It was a tough decision, but with all those guys we let go this year who were integral to my first two years here, those decisions were made by money. Those decisions weren’t made because we don’t think they’re good football players or we don’t think they’re good people.”
Here’s more on the Eagles:
- Per Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link), McCoy and the Eagles have a difference of opinion on whether it would’ve been possible to restructure his contract before the trade — according to Kelly, McCoy’s agent suggested reworking the contract wasn’t an option, but the running back says that possibility was never brought up.
- As Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets, it’s a case of he-said, he-said at this point, but McLane’s sources dispute Kelly’s claim that agent Drew Rosenhaus was unwilling to restructure McCoy’s deal.
- While the Eagles’ old running back is one subject of conversation leading up to this week’s game, their current running back is in the news as well. According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), there are some NFL executives who believe DeMarco Murray has recognized he’s not a great fit for Kelly’s offense, and would like to return to Dallas. A trade is extremely unlikely though, so Murray would have to be cut for that scenario to be in play.
- For his part, Murray confirmed today to reporters that he spoke to owner Jeffrey Lurie about his role in Philadelphia, but he said he doesn’t regret signing with the Eagles, and definitely wants to be back next season (all Twitter links via Albert Breer of the NFL Network).
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/9/15
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from across the NFL:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: QB Bryn Renner (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun)
- Cut: S Nick Perry
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE Marcel Jensen, C Ronald Patrick (Twitter links via Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: RB Jahwan Edwards (Twitter link via team)
- Cut: QB Jeff Tuel
New England Patriots
- Signed: LB Eric Martin (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: RB Bronson Hill (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of the New Orleans Times-Picayune)
San Diego Chargers
- Signed: TE Tim Semisch (press release via team)
- Placed on PS-IR: TE Alex Bayer
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Douglas McNeil (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
East Notes: Kelly, Bills, McCoy, Murray
We touched on some Eagles and Bills news items this morning, with a focus on the two teams’ highly-paid running backs. Since then though, those clubs – and running backs – have continued to be hot topics, creating a few headlines throughout the day. So let’s round up the latest out of Philadelphia and Buffalo, as the two East clubs prepare for a big Week 14 matchup.
- In a conference call today with Buffalo reporters, including Mike Rodak of ESPN.com, Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said it’s a “false assumption” to call him the team’s general manager. “I just have final say over the roster,” Kelly said. While he may not officially hold the GM title, Kelly is clearly the one making personnel decisions in Philadelphia, so his objections seem to be over a matter of semantics.
- Kelly also said earlier today that he regretted not getting a chance to talk to LeSean McCoy before word of the trade that sent to the running back to Buffalo broke, adding that he’d like to shake McCoy’s hand. Shady wasn’t having any of that though, telling Bills reporters, including Mike Rodak of ESPN.com, that Kelly “can’t shake s—.” McCoy continued: “We’re not enemies. I won’t say anything wrong to him. But there’s nothing for us to talk about, at all.”
- The Bills‘ offseason acquisition of McCoy was a factor in Tyrod Taylor‘s decision to sign with Buffalo, the quarterback said today, noting that he wanted to be around playmakers (Twitter link via Tyler Dunne of the Buffalo News). For his part, Bills head coach Rex Ryan said his team “couldn’t be happier” with the McCoy/Kiko Alonso swap, as Dunne details.
- While McCoy was making headlines with his comments today, it was Eagles running back DeMarco Murray that was in the news yesterday, following a report that he spoke to team owner Jeffrey Lurie about his unhappiness with his role. According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link), Kelly said that Murray has expressed those frustrations to him as well. The head coach also suggested that Murray’s conversation with Lurie was happenstance, though he couldn’t explain how it leaked to ESPN (Twitter link via Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News).
East Notes: McCoy, Murray, Tannehill, Pats
With the Bills and Eagles set to square off this weekend, with both teams fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive, the offseason trade that sent Kiko Alonso to Philadelphia and LeSean McCoy to Buffalo has become a popular topic of discussion once again.
In a conversation with Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, McCoy said this week that he’s no longer upset about the fact that the Eagles unexpectedly dealt him, adding that he doesn’t hold a grudge against head coach Chip Kelly. As for Alonso, he’s downplaying the storyline involving him and McCoy, telling reporters this week that “the fact that I got traded for him has no relevance at all” (link via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
As we wait to see how McCoy and Alonso fare against their old teams, let’s check in on a few more items from around the NFL’s East divisions….
- After a report surfaced suggesting he spoke to team owner Jeffrey Lurie about his role with the Eagles, running back DeMarco Murray had no interest in talking to reporters on Tuesday about the subject, as Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News details.
- Ryan Tannehill hasn’t exactly been lighting it up since signing his lucrative, long-term contract extension, but the Dolphins remain committed to him for now. However, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald observes, Tannehill’s base salaries beyond 2016 are non-guaranteed, so the club could have an out after next season if the quarterback doesn’t show signs of progress.
- Former Buccaneers cornerback Leonard Johnson, who worked out for the Patriots on Monday, has stuck around the area and looks like the favorite to fill the team’s open roster spot, tweets Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. After appearing in all 48 of the Bucs’ regular season games from 2012 to 2014 starting 17 of them, Johnson was cut from the injured reserve list by Tampa Bay last week.
East Notes: Cowboys, Giants, Bills
The Cowboys earned their first win this season without Tony Romo on Monday night, upending NFC East rival Washington, 19-16, to improve to 4-8 and remain in the hunt for the division title. Despite the victory, owner Jerry Jones wasn’t happy after the game. The 73-year-old criticized his club’s Jason Garrett-led coaching staff both for not getting star receiver Dez Bryant more involved and its end-of-game clock management, according to Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Jones said that the Cowboys beat Washington “on will, not tactical mastery.” He also expressed disappointment in the team’s 1-7 record sans Romo.
“I am stunned that we haven’t been able to win more games without Tony. And I would have thought that we could have coached it up enough, and put it together enough, that we would not have lost those games without Romo early. We would be in better shape than we are right now.”
Even though they’re well under .500, the Cowboys are still in the playoff hunt because of their division’s general incompetence. Jones doesn’t sound particularly hopeful about their postseason chances, though.
“I look at it at 4-8 and won’t look at it any differently as we move up the ladder until something really special happens,” Jones stated.
More from both the NFL’s two East-based divisions:
- The Bills won’t have any in-season discussions about the future status of general manager Doug Whaley, according to The Buffalo News’ Vic Carucci (Twitter link).
- Giants receiver Rueben Randle has garnered 66 fewer targets than last season, when he totaled career highs in catches (71) and yards (938), and he voiced his displeasure about it Tuesday. “My opportunities have been cut down a little more,” Randle told WFAN, per the New York Daily News’ Ebenezer Samuel. “It’s definitely frustrating. As a receiver you want to get more involved. It can be kind of tough when the opportunities are limited.” Randle is averaging just over five targets per game this year after piling up almost eight per contest last season.
- The Bills made a surprising roster move today, releasing veteran tight end Matthew Mulligan in order to promote rookie TE Nick O’Leary. The transaction sparked some speculation that Buffalo had wanted to protect O’Leary from a team that might sign him away, and Mike Rodak of ESPN.com confirms (via Twitter) that the sixth-rounder did have some clubs “fishing around” on him.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/8/15
We’ll track all of Tuesday’s minor transactions from around the NFL in this space, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:
- The Dolphins have re-signed tight end Brandon Williams to their active roster, waiving safety Jordan Kovacs in a corresponding move, the team announced today (Twitter links). Miami also opened up another roster spot by placing defensive tackle Robert Thomas on the injured reserve list.
- Jets defensive end Mike Catapano has landed on IR due to a foot injury, with safety Ronald Martin getting the promotion from the practice squad to take his spot on the roster, the Jets announced today (via Twitter).
- The Chiefs are signing offensive lineman Jarrod Pughsley from their practice squad to their 53-man roster, tweets Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. The corresponding move to make room for Pughsley isn’t yet known.
- The Falcons have released defensive tackle Ricky Havili-Heimuli from their injured reserve list, the team announced today (via Twitter). He’ll become a free agent if he clears waivers.
Earlier updates:
- In the wake of Nick Boyle‘s suspension, and with Crockett Gillmore and Maxx Williams both battling injuries, the Ravens have added two tight ends to their roster. According to a press release, the club has promoted Konrad Reuland from its practice squad and signed veteran free agent Richard Gordon. Boyle was moved to the reserve/suspended list and cornerback Cassius Vaughn was cut to create space on the roster.
- The Bills have also made a change at the tight end position, promoting Nick O’Leary from the practice squad and cutting veteran Matthew Mulligan, the team announced today. Mulligan had played a role this season for the Bills as a blocker and special-teamer, making the move a little surprising. Joe Buscaglia of WKBW wonders (via Twitter) if another team – perhaps the Ravens? – showed interest in O’Leary, prompting Buffalo to protect him.
- The Eagles have signed outside linebacker Steven Means from the Texans‘ practice squad, the club announced today (via Twitter). Means will take over the roster spot vacated by Miles Austin, who was released on Monday.
- With a Thursday night showdown against Arizona around the corner, the Vikings have made a handful of roster moves, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed safety Shaun Prater and elevated safety Anthony Harris from the practice squad. To make room for the incoming defensive backs, Minnesota placed safety Antone Exum on injured reserve and waived defensive end Justin Trattou.
- The Colts are adding some depth at the linebacker spot by promoting linebacker Amarlo Herrera to their active roster, a source tells Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). Jerrell Freeman and Nate Irving are banged up for Indianapolis.
- The Browns have re-signed offensive lineman Darrian Miller to their 53-man roster just three days after cutting him, placing fullback Malcolm Johnson on injured reserve in a corresponding move, per a team release.
Bills Notes: Ryan, Carpenter, A. Williams
While Rex Ryan has always been very unlikely to be a one-and-done coach in Buffalo, there was talk around the league last week that Bills ownership was “none too pleased” with the team’s recent play, says Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports. As such, the team’s Sunday win over Houston likely has Ryan breathing a little easier.
If the Bills miss the playoffs this year, I expect Ryan to get at least one more shot in 2016 at making the postseason. As Garafolo notes though, the team’s owners are in win-now mode, having OK’d big-money maneuvers such as the trade and extension for LeSean McCoy, as well as lucrative contracts for Charles Clay, Jerry Hughes, and Marcell Dareus, among others.
Here’s more out of Buffalo:
- Kicker Dan Carpenter missed a field goal and an extra point during Sunday’s win over the Texans, and has now missed four of each for the season. However, his job isn’t in danger, according to Ryan, who declared that “we’re not getting rid of” Carpenter (link via Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News). “Moving that [extra point] back, there’s a lot of people who miss kicks,” Ryan said. “Look, we’ve got a veteran kicker. You guys know he can kick in the conditions, and not everybody can do that.”
- Safety Aaron Williams, who is on injured reserve with the designation to return, has a 50/50 chance of returning to the field for the Bills this season, per Ryan (Twitter link via Skurski).
- The injury sustained by cornerback Stephon Gilmore on Sunday isn’t expected to be a season-ender, according to Ryan (Twitter link via Skurski). There has yet to be an official diagnosis or recovery timeline announced for Gilmore.
AFC East Notes: Dolphins, McDaniels, Burgess
Within his latest column, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald explores several of the personnel decisions facing the Dolphins in the coming weeks and months. Jackson suggests that the team would like to add at least one defensive end, though that doesn’t rule out the possibility of Olivier Vernon and/or Derrick Shelby returning. Quinton Coples is also in the club’s plans for 2016, albeit at a reduced salary, says Jackson.
While defensive end is one key situation worth monitoring in Miami, the Dolphins will also face decisions on cornerback Brent Grimes, linebackers Koa Misi and Earl Mitchell, running back Lamar Miller, and pass-catchers Rishard Matthews and Jordan Cameron, as Jackson details.
Here’s more from out of the AFC East:
- Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald also looks ahead to the Dolphins‘ offseason, writing that the team’s greatest areas of need are at defensive end, middle linebacker, and cornerback. As Salguero observes, with the club set to hire a new head coach and coaching staff, many of the decisions Miami makes in the next few weeks will determine the direction of the franchise for the next several years.
- Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is generating “a lot of buzz” as a potential head coaching candidate, writes Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. Having already had one head coaching job that went south, McDaniels will have to be selective this time if he has the opportunity to interview for offseason vacancies. Volin suggests that the Lions may be a fit for McDaniels, if Detroit looks to replace Jim Caldwell.
- British rugby star Tom Burgess, who worked out for the Giants last week, also auditioned for both the Jets and Bills, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). If Burgess is serious about giving the NFL a shot, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him land a reserve/futures contract at season’s end with one of the teams trying him out this month.