Minor Moves: Saturday
Here are some minor transactions that have occurred this Saturday before the rest of the week two action begins:
- The Bears have promoted three players to their active roster for Sunday’s game against the 49ers, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribute (via Twitter). Receivers Josh Bellamy and Chris Williams will be suited up tomorrow, along with center Taylor Boggs.
- The Vikings have signed running back Joe Banyard off of their practice squad, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Twitter). The team has waived full back Zach Line to make room for Banyard.
- The Patriots have promoted linebacker Deontae Skinner to their active roster, reports Field Yates of ESPN (via Twitter). The team waived linebacker Darius Fleming to make room for the roster move.
Earlier updates:
- The Jaguars have waived fifth-round pick Chris Smith, reports Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter). The defensive end was released to make way for the signing of safety Craig Loston.
- The Raiders have officially promoted linebacker Bojay Filimoeatu from the practice squad to the active roster, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (via Twitter). Wilson originally reported the teams plans to do so yesterday, and it has now become official. Filimoeatu slots in the roster spot that was vacated when the team placed Taiwan Jones on the injured-reserve, according to Wilson (via Twitter).
- The Lions are promoting safety Nate Ness to the active roster, reports Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). Birkett has not played in a game since 2011.
Bears Cut Kelvin Hayden, Two Others
The Bears are in the process of making some changes to their 53-man roster, and have cut three players to clear some openings. According to Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter), the club has released veteran defensive back Kelvin Hayden and fullback Tony Fiammetta, and waived quarterback David Fales.
After missing the 2013 season with a hamstring injury, Hayden was cut by the Bears prior to the season, but returned to the team when Marquess Wilson was placed on the IR list with the designation to return. However, he didn’t see action in Chicago’s Week 1 game against the Bills. In fact, all three players cut today by the Bears were inactive last weekend.
Because Fales isn’t a vested veteran, he’ll have to pass through waivers unclaimed to sign with another team or practice squad, whereas Hayden and Fiammetta immediately become free agents. I’d expect Chicago to fill the three openings created by today’s cuts by signing or promoting players at positions that were hit hard by injuries in Week 1, such as wide receiver and offensive line.
NFC North Notes: Lions, Bears, Vikings
Let’s round up a few Thursday items from out of the NFC North, where the two preseason favorites – the Packers and Bears – sit at 0-1, looking up at the first-place Lions and Vikings….
- The Lions will have an open roster spot after placing Corey Hilliard and Bill Bentley on injured reserve this week, and while it had been assumed that the opening would be used to add a defensive back, it won’t necessarily be an outside signing. Head coach Jim Caldwell said today that the most likely scenario would have the team promoting a player from its practice squad, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. As Birkett points out (via Twitter), Mohammed Seisay and Nate Ness are the two defensive backs currently on the club’s practice squad.
- Depending on the status of a handful of their injured players, the Bears could make additional roster moves before Sunday, perhaps to add an offensive lineman and/or a wide receiver, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
- The Vikings were among the teams that had players in for workouts this week, auditioning linebackers Steve Beauharnais and Phillip Steward, as well as guard Jon Halapio, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). It’s worth noting that both Beauharnais and Halapio were cut at the end of the preseason by the Patriots, Minnesota’s Week 2 opponent.
Practice Squad Updates: Thursday
We’ll round up Thursday’s news related to teams adding and removing players from their practice squads in this post, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day….
- With Chris Long having been placed on the injured reserve list with the designation to return, the Rams filled his 53-man roster spot by promoting defensive tackle Matt Conrath from their practice squad, according to his agency Eastern Athletics (Twitter link). Defensive end Kourtnei Brown has been added to the team’s practice squad in Conrath’s place, per agency ARN Sports and Entertainment (Twitter link).
- After cutting him from their active roster, the Broncos have re-added wideout Nathan Palmer to their practice squad, the club announced today (Twitter link).
- The Bears have signed wide receiver and kick returner Chris Williams to their practice squad, tweets Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com. Williams, the fourth receiver on Chicago’s practice squad, will take the place of linebacker DeDe Lattimore, who has been cut.
- Defensive lineman Kona Schwenke has been removed from the Chiefs‘ practice squad to make room for newly-added safety Daniel Sorensen, tweets Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. Sorensen has cut from the club’s 53-man roster earlier in the week.
NFC Notes: Long, Newton, 49ers, Giants
As if the Rams‘ season wasn’t already off to a bad enough start, with the team coming off a blowout loss at home and struggling to find a healthy and competent quarterback, the club received more bad news today. Per head coach Jeff Fisher, defensive end Chris Long will have surgery this week and will miss at least “a few” games (Twitter link).
Long left Sunday’s contest against the Vikings with an ankle injury, and according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the veteran pass rusher could miss the next eight to 10 weeks. That would seem to make him a candidate for the IR list with the designation to return, and according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Rams will indeed use that spot for Long (Twitter link). That would make him eligible to return to practice after six weeks and to game action after eight weeks.
As we wait to see what can go wrong next in St. Louis, let’s round up a few other Wednesday items from around the NFC….
- According to Cam Newton, the Panthers have yet to approach him about a contract extension, which isn’t his focus right now anyway, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. There was some speculation this week that the decision to restructure Charles Johnson‘s contract could mean the club would explore an extension for Newton sooner rather than later.
- After cutting LaMichael James, the 49ers don’t intend to add a third running back to their roster this week, tweets Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, passing along a comment from coach Jim Harbaugh. It looks like San Francisco will head into Sunday’s contest with the Bears with Frank Gore and Carlos Hyde as its only active halfbacks.
- Giants punter Steve Weatherford won’t require surgery, but he does have torn ligaments in his left ankle after being hit during a kick on Monday night, writes Conor Orr of NJ.com. It’s not clear if Weatherford will be forced to miss the team’s Week 2 game, but according Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter), the Giants have reached out to the agents for some free agent punters to put them on “standby,” just in case.
- Joel Corry of CBSSports.com takes a look at some huge contract extensions signed within the last year and determines how soon teams could reasonably get away from them, if necessary. Among the deals examined by Corry: Colin Kaepernick‘s with the 49ers, Jay Cutler‘s with the Bears, and Jimmy Graham‘s with the Saints.
Practice Squad Updates: Tuesday
With Week 2 of the NFL season underway, teams have begun to again modify their 10-man practice squads. We’ll have Tuesday’s updates right here, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Eagles signed linebacker Brandon Hepburn and offensive lineman Tyler Hoover to the practice squad, writes Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com. Meanwhile, they released linebacker Colton Underwood, who was signed to the practice squad last week.
- Running back Chris Rainey and cornerback Teddy Williams have joined the Cardinals‘ practice squad, taking the spots of receiver Kevin Cone and running back Dominique Williams, who was placed on the PS-injured list, tweets Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com.
- The Redskins have made a couple more changes to their practice squad. According to Mike Barber of the Richmond Times-Dispatch (via Twitter), former Virginia Tech defensive tackle Derrick Hopkins has been added, while Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets that cornerback Richard Crawford has been cut.
- In order to make room for the previously-reported practice squad addition of wideout Greg Herd, the Bears have terminated the contract of defensive tackle Roy Philon, the team announced today (via Twitter).
- Linebacker Josh Kaddu has filled the final opening on the Vikings‘ practice squad, the club announced (Twitter link).
Earlier updates:
- Tight end Michael Egnew, a former third-round pick, has signed to the Jaguars’ practice squad, replacing offensive tackle Cody Booth, the club announced today in a press release. Tight end Reggie Jordan was also removed from Jacksonville’s injured reserve list.
- The Chiefs will sign tight end Adam Schiltz to their practice squad, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). We heard yesterday that wideout Armon Binns would also join Kansas City’s practice squad, so the club will have to cut two players from the unit to make the additions official.
- With an opening on their practice squad, the Broncos have filled it by signing tight end Dominique Jones, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post.
- The Redskins have cut wide receiver Nick Williams from their practice squad, a source tells Zac Boyer of the Washington Times (Twitter link).
Bears Re-Sign Eben Britton
3:20pm: The Bears have confirmed they’ve re-signed Britton, cutting wide receiver and special-teamer Micheal Spurlock to make room on the roster (Twitter link).
2:07pm: After some Week 1 injuries to their offensive line, the Bears are expected to bring back veteran offensive lineman Eben Britton, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). The team had originally released Britton during its cutdown to 53 players at the end of August.
Britton, who spent the first four season of his NFL career with the Jaguars, saw 239 offensive snaps for the Bears in 2013, primarily at right guard. While the sample size was limited, Britton recorded a respectable +4.1 grade according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics (subscription required). The club re-signed the 26-year-old back in April, but he was unable to earn a spot on the Week 1 roster.
The Bears are in need of some veteran line depth after a Week 1 contest in which both center Roberto Garza and guard Matt Slauson suffered ankle injuries. It’s not clear yet how much time either player will miss, but the recoveries could take multiple weeks in both cases.
Minor Moves: Monday
With the season’s first Sunday in the books, a handful of teams are shuffling their rosters in preparation for next week’s games. Here are the latest minor transactions from around the NFL, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Bears have added receiver Greg Herd to the practice squad, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Herd spent time with the team during training camp before he was cut on August 23.
- The Seahawks have signed cornerback Josh Thomas to take the place of the injured Jeremy Lane, reports ESPN’s Terry Blount (via Twitter). They’ve also made some changes to their practice squad, adding guard Nate Isles and safety Terrance Parks in place of guard David Arkin and safety Josh Aubrey, the club announced today (Twitter link).
- With Dave Zastudil being bothered by a groin injury, the Cardinals have signed punter Drew Butler, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter).
- Defensive tackle Christo Bilukidi has been claimed off waivers by the Ravens, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Bilukidi was cut over the weekend by the Bengals.
- When the Bengals cut Bilukidi, they signed Onterio McCalebb to their active roster, but he lasted just two days — he has been waived, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer, who adds (via Twitter) that the club has also terminated wide receiver Cobi Hamilton from the exempt list of the practice squad.
- To make room for Bilukidi, the Ravens waived running back Fitz Toussaint, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
- The Broncos have cut long snapper Kevin McDermott from their practice squad, tweets Mike Klis of the Denver Post. His spot will be taken by tight end Dominique Davis, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- Tight end Emmanuel Ogbuehi has been replaced on the Browns‘ practice squad by defensive lineman Calvin Barnett, says Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link).
Earlier updates:
- The Bears have signed safety Ahmad Dixon from the Vikings‘ practice squad, cutting cornerback Demontre Hurst to open up a spot on their roster, the team announced today (via Twitter). Dixon was drafted by the Cowboys but was waived by Dallas during preseason roster cutdowns.
- Offensive tackle Andrew McDonald is also making the move from one team’s practice squad to another club’s 53-man roster, according to agent Brett Tessler, who tweets that his client has a deal with the Seahawks. McDonald had previously been one of the 10 players on the Panthers‘ practice squad.
- The Bills have cut defensive end Jacquies Smith to make room for Nigel Bradham, who is returning this week from his one-game suspension, tweets ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak.
- The Seahawks have placed cornerback Jeremy Lane, who is suffering from a groin injury, on their injured reserve list with the designation to return, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
- Defensive back Jamarca Sanford, who had been on the Vikings‘ injured reserve list, has been released with a settlement, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
- The Chiefs have signed wideout Armon Binns to their practice squad and removed cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke from their IR with an injury settlement, per Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links).
NFC North Notes: Suh, Bennett, Packers
J.J. Watt‘s new contract could affect their Lions and their plans regarding Ndamukong Suh, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Watt arguably has been the NFL’s most destructive player the last two seasons. He had 20.5 sacks and 16 pass deflections in 2012, 10.5 sacks last year, and is two years younger than Suh. Still, Suh has the threat of free agency as leverage for a new deal. Here’s tonight’s look at the NFC North..
- When asked why free agent wide receiver Earl Bennett wasn’t called to replace the injured Marquess Wilson, Bears GM Phil Emery said, “Don’t assume that Earl was not called,” according to Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter).
- The Packers have worked out offensive linemen Michael Bamiro, Manase Foketi, and Adam Gettis, as well as cornerback Robert Steeples, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). Earlier today Green Bay worked out quarterbacks Jeff Mathews, Pat Devlin, and Jon Jennings.
- The Bears auditioned linebacker Nate Askew and defensive backs Shamiel Gary and Josh Thomas, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
Bears Re-Sign Kelvin Hayden
The Bears have placed wide receiver Marquess Wilson in IR with a designation to return, opening up a roster spot to bring back defensive back Kelvin Hayden, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Hayden had been one of the Bears’ last cuts over the weekend when the team trimmed its roster from 75 players to 53.
Hayden, 30, tore a hamstring last August, which landed him on injured reserve, forcing him out of action for the 2013 season. For his career, Hayden has been active for 101 games, including 49 starts, racking up 12 interceptions and 45 passes defended in parts of eight seasons. He’ll be a depth piece in Chicago’s secondary.
Wilson had been poised to assume a larger role on the Bears’ offense this year, but won’t be eligible to return until at least Week 10, since the Bears have a bye in Week 9. When he gets back, he’ll look to carve out playing time on a receiving corps that now features Santonio Holmes behind Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery.