Chase Ford

Bills Work Out TE Chase Ford

The Bills are apparently in the market for a tight end. According to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter), the team worked out veteran Chase Ford today.

Chase FordFord, 27, hasn’t played an NFL game since 2014, but he showed plenty of promise during his tenure with the Vikings. Between 2013 and 2014, the former undrafted free agent out of Miami hauled in 34 catches for 391 yards and one touchdown in 20 games (five starts). Since that time, the 27-year-old has spent time with the Ravens and Browns (he also had a stint with the Eagles to begin his professional career).

Despite underwhelming performance from the position in recent years, the Bills did little to improve their tight end corps this offseason. Charles Clay, who signed with the organization prior to the 2015 season, has averaged 54 receptions for 540 yards and three touchdowns during his two years in Buffalo. Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News previously lamented the team’s lack of tight end production, and he attributed Clay’s $9MM cap hit to the fact that the Bills didn’t add reinforcement this summer.

If Ford is ultimately signed, he’ll still have plenty of competition to overcome for a reserve role. Besides Clay, the Bills are currently rostering tight ends Nick O’LearyGerald Christian, and Logan Thomas.

North Notes: Steelers, Stafford, Nkemdiche

Though the Steelers were reported as an early suitor for free agent Josh Norman, the match never made sense, writes Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (and notably, new reports have indicated that Pittsburgh is not, in fact, in the running for Norman). The Steelers have less than $4MM available in cap space, and given that Norman is said to be targeting an annual salary north of $14MM, the numbers were never going to add up.

Let’s take a trip around the NFL’s two North divisions…

  • Lions GM Bob Quinn admitted that DT Robert Nkemdiche is a red flag player, but said that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t select a player like that (Twitter link via Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com). Quinn also made it clear at today’s presser that the team has no interest in trading Matthew Stafford, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Free agent tight end Chase Ford said he hasn’t heard from the Vikings, the club with whom he spent 2013-14, according to Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Ford has had a busy six months or so — the Ravens signed him in November, but then waived him earlier this month after offering him an RFA tender. The Browns claimed Ford, but similarly waived him just a week later.
  • Using the concept of surplus value, Brian Burke of ESPN.com declares the Browns the winner of last week’s draft pick trade with the Eagles.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/20/16

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Browns have waived tight end Chase Ford, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Ford was claimed off of waivers just one week ago by Cleveland, so it was a short stay for him.
  • The Jets signed offensive tackle Luke Marquardt, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets. The 6’6″ tackle first came into the league as a UDFA out of Azusa Pacific when he signed with San Francisco.
  • The Colts signed offensive tackles Kevin Graf and Mitchell Van Dyk, Mike Chappell of CBS4 tweets. Graf, 25 in June, is a 6’6″, 303 pound lineman out of USC. Van Dyk was waived/injured by Pittsburgh prior to the start of the 2015 season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/13/16

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Browns have claimed tight end Chase Ford off waivers from the Ravens, as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets. Ford inked his restricted free agent tender with Baltimore a few weeks ago but his $1.671MM salary was non-guaranteed.
  • The Ravens announced (on Twitter) that they have waived tight end Harold Spears. That now makes two tight ends waived by Baltimore in the last two days.
  • The Vikings announced (on Twitter) that they have waived linebackers Terrance Plummer and Alex Singleton.
  • The Broncos have waived defensive end George Uko, as Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post writes. Uko joined Denver’s practice squad in September 2015 and inked a reserve/future deal with the team following SB50. Prior to joining up with Denver’s taxi squad, Uko had one NFL appearance with the Bucs on his resume.
  • The Colts announced that exclusive rights free agent safety Akeem Davis has signed his tender. Davis, a Memphis product, has played in 19 NFL games over the course of his career with New Orleans, Seattle, Indianapolis, and Washington. In college, Davis registered 162 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, three interceptions, 2.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, and seven fumble recoveries over the years for the Tigers.
  • Raiders restricted free agent offensive tackle Matt McCants and ERFA defensive lineman Shelby Harris inked their tenders, as Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun tweets.
  • The Chargers waived quarterback Brad Sorensen, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Sorensen was waived with a non-football injury designation.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/12/16

Today’s minor moves:

  • Mike Remmers has signed his restricted free agent tender with the Panthers, agent Brett Tessler tweets. The Panthers first acquired Remmers when they signed him off St. Louis’ taxi squad in October of 2014. Looking at how he has improved his value since that point, they might regret keeping him on the practice squad rather than the 53-man roster. Pro Football Focus (sub. req’d) rated Remmers as the 43rd best tackle in the league last season, giving him significantly higher marks for his run blocking than his pass blocking.
  • The Ravens (on Twitter) announced that they have waived tight end Chase Ford. Ford inked his restricted free agent tender just a few weeks ago but his $1.671MM salary was non-guaranteed. It’s possible that Ford has been removed from the roster to make room for Dennis Pitta, who is attempting to return to football in 2016. Pitta and Baltimore agreed to a restructured deal earlier today.
  • The Patriots announced that cornerback Justin Coleman has signed his ERFA tender, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. Coleman made 21 tackles in 10 games (two starts) last season.
  • Giants running back Orleans Darkwa signed his ERFA tender, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Giants cut linebacker Nico Johnson with a failed physical designation, according to Wilson (Twitter link). New York had elevated Johnson off its practice squad at the tail end of last season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/24/16

Here are today’s minor roster moves from around the NFL:

  • Bills offensive lineman Jordan Mills has inked his low-round tender, according to Rand Getlin of NFL.com (on Twitter). Mills will earn $1.671MM for 2016.

Earlier Updates:

  • Defensive tackle Brandon Thompson has re-signed with the Bengals, according to his representatives at Element Sports Group (Twitter link). Thompson, who visited the Seahawks earlier in free agency, figures to join Pat Sims in a rotational role behind starting defensive tackles Geno Atkins and Domata Peko. Rand Getlin of the NFL Network tweets that it’s a one-year deal, while Ian Rapoport of NFL.com suggests (via Twitter) that there will be playing-time bonuses or incentives for Thompson, who tore his ACL near the end of the 2015 season.
  • The Bears have re-signed receiver and return man Deonte Thompson on a one-year contract, the club announced today (via Twitter). Thompson, who didn’t play much of a role on Chicago’s offense last season, did post an impressive 29.2 yard average on kickoff returns, though he got just 14 attempts.
  • Ravens tight end Chase Ford has signed his restricted free agent tender, officially taking him off the market, the team announced today (via Twitter). Baltimore signed Ford off the Vikings’ practice squad last year, but placed him on IR with a season-ending shoulder injury shortly thereafter. He got the low-end RFA tender, worth $1.671MM.
  • The Seahawks have released snapper Andrew East, as Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times tweets.

RFA Tender Decisions: 3/9/16

Unrestricted free agent news will obviously dominate the day, but several clubs also had to make decisions on whether to offer tenders to restricted free agents. We’ll round up those decisions here:

Tendered

Non-Tendered

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/30/15

Here are Monday’s minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL:

  • The Seahawks promoted defensive tackle A.J. Francis from the practice squad, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Patriots have released wide receiver Chris Harper following Sunday night’s muffed punt, as Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com tweets.
  • The Cowboys waived running back Trey Williams, as Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Giants are signing guard Adam Gettis off of the Raiders‘ practice squad, a person with knowledge of the situation told Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger. The Giants are short on offensive lineman, so Gettis will help provide the Giants with some much-needed depth.

Earlier updates:

  • In advance of Monday night’s game against the Browns, the Ravens have promoted guard Kaleb Johnson and wide receiver Daniel Brown from their practice squad, the team announced today in a press release. To make room, Baltimore cut wide receiver Chuck Jacobs and placed tight end Chase Ford on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Johnson, in particular, could play a role tonight, since the club doesn’t have many healthy offensive linemen left on the roster.
  • The Bills are releasing linebacker A.J. Tarpley, according to Sal Capaccio of WGR550 (Twitter link). Tarpley, who recorded his first career NFL sack on Sunday, looks like a candidate to join the team’s practice squad if he clears waivers. Per Joe Buscaglia of WKBW (Twitter link), Buffalo also placed defensive end Alex Carrington on injured reserve, officially ending his season after he tore his quad tendon.
  • The Eagles have signed interior offensive lineman Barrett Jones off the Bears‘ practice squad, waiving offensive lineman Julian Vandervelde in the corresponding move (Twitter link). Given the history between the Eagles and Vandervelde, who has now been cut four times by the club since the start of September, it may just be a matter of time until he finds himself back with Philadelphia.
  • The Buccaneers have signed linebacker Adarius Glanton from the Panthers‘ practice squad, waiving safety Kimario McFadden, according to a press release from the team. With Kwon Alexander facing a four-game suspension and Bruce Carter having left Sunday’s game to be evaluated for a concussion, linebacker depth was a priority for Tampa Bay.
  • The Bengals waived linebacker Sean Porter from the physically unable to perform list today, tweets Coley Harvey of ESPN.com. Porter returned to practice for Cincinnati earlier this month, but the team apparently determined there was no place for him on the 53-man roster.

Ravens Sign Three Players; Perriman To IR

After a devastating loss on Sunday to the Jaguars, the Ravens have shaken up their roster a little, removing three players from the 53-man squad and bringing in three new additions. Here are today’s roster moves out of Baltimore, according to the team (all Twitter links):

Signed:

Placed on injured reserve:

  • WR Breshad Perriman (knee)

Waived:

Waived/injured:

The most notable move of the Ravens’ six transactions today is the decision to put Perriman on IR, officially ending his rookie season. Baltimore’s first-round pick never saw the field during the 2015 regular season, and after being selected 26th overall in the draft back in April, he won’t get an opportunity to make his NFL debut until 2016.

The Ravens will also be turning to a new return man for their next game, with Ross no longer in the mix, and the newly-signed Clay may get a shot at the job. Ross had fumbled twice in Baltimore’s last three games, leading to his release.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/12/15

Here are Thursday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the league:

Dallas Cowboys

Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings

  • To be signed: TE Chase Ford (link via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press)

New England Patriots