Panthers Claim G Michael Jordan
The Panthers did not let Michael Jordan get past them on the waiver wire. They submitted a claim and landed the former Bengals guard Wednesday.
Jordan started 19 games with the Bengals over the past two years, doing so after Cincinnati selected him in the 2019 fourth round. The Panthers will give the interior blocker another shot. Two years remain on MJ’s contract.
Pro Football Focus has not been especially impressed with Jordan through two seasons, though he did not fare as poorly in 2020 as the advanced metrics site viewed him as a rookie. Jordan graded just inside the top 60 among the 80-plus full-time guards PFF assessed last season.
An Ohio State product, Jordan will join a Panthers team that houses Pat Elflein, John Miller and recent sixth-round picks Dennis Daley and Deonte Brown at guard.
Bengals Down To 53
The Bengals are in the books. With less than an hour before the deadline, the Bengals announced a series of roster cuts to take them down to 53. Here’s the full rundown:
Placed on Reserve/Non-Football Injury list:
- OT Hakeem Adeniji (pectoral)
- DE Wyatt Hubert (pectoral)
Placed on Reserve/Injured list:
- DE Joseph Ossai (Knee)
Released:
- DT Mike Daniels
- TE Mason Schreck
- DE Noah Spence
- WR Trent Taylor
Waived:
- LB Joe Bachie
- DE Amani Bledsoe
- CB Tony Brown
- P Drue Chrisman
- S Trayvon Henderson
- LB Keandre Jones
- G Michael Jordan
- DT Kahlil McKenzie
- TE Thaddeus Moss
- HB Jacques Patrick
- CB Antonio Phillips
- CB Winston Rose
- K Austin Seibert
- QB Kyle Shurmur
- G Keaton Sutherland
- OT Gunnar Vogel
- WR Scotty Washington
- HB Pooka Williams Jr.
- HB Trayveon Williams
- DT Renell Wren
For now, this leaves the Bengals with seven wide receivers on the roster: Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, Mike Thomas, Auden Tate, Stanley Morgan Jr., Tee Higgins, and Trenton Irwin. Meanwhile, they’re down a couple starters from last year in Michael Jordan and Mike Daniels.
Bengals Release Michael Jordan
Tuesday marked the Last Dance in Cincinnati. The Bengals have waived former fourth-round pick and starting guard Michael Jordan (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com).
Jordan, 23, has appeared in 27 games for the Bengals over the last two years, including 19 starts. Of course, those weren’t great years for the Bengals’ front five.
This year, the Bengals invested a bit more in their O-Line, adding Riley Reiff at tackle while drafting Clemson’s Jackson Carman in Round 2.
The Bengals still have lots of cuts to make between now and 4pm ET/3pm CT. By that time, they’ll need to be at the league’s new 53-man roster maximum.
Giants To Trade B.J. Hill To Bengals For Billy Price
We’ve got another trade to report! Not too long after the Bills dealt Darryl Johnson to the Panthers, the Giants and Bengals have pulled off an interesting swap. New York has agreed to trade defensive lineman B.J. Hill, head coach Joe Judge announced to the media on Monday.
Right after Judge said Hill would be traded, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweeted that it was to the Bengals for offensive lineman Billy Price. The Bengals will also get a conditional seventh-round pick in the deal, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News notes in a tweet. In a follow-up tweet, Rapoport notes that Price has been a “key name” in trade talks recently, and that the Giants were searching for O-line depth.
Price wasn’t the only Bengals lineman on the block, as Albert Breer of SI.com tweets that Cincy also had discussions about guard Michael Jordan. He adds that the Jaguars joined the Giants as teams calling around about interior offensive line help this week.
A former first-rounder, Price was the 18th overall pick back in 2018. Cincinnati declined his fifth-year option this past offseason, meaning he’ll be a free agent after this season. The Ohio State product never lived up to his draft status, and could benefit from the change in scenery.
He was Cincy’s starter at center as a rookie, then moved to guard and only started eight games in 2019. This past season he was mostly a reserve, only starting one game. Hill was a third-round pick back in 2018, and also declined after his rookie year.
In his first pro season he had 5.5 sacks while starting 12 games, but over the past two years he’s had just two total sacks while being reduced to a rotational role. It makes sense for both sides, with each addressing an area of need.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/23/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here. Teams have until 4pm ET/3pm CT Tuesday to reach the 80-man roster limit.
Arizona Cardinals
- Waived: CB Luq Barcoo (failed physical), TE Ian Bunting, WR Rico Gafford
Baltimore Ravens
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: G Marquel Harrell, WR Krishawn Hogan, DT Walter Palmore
Chicago Bears
- Released from IR via injury settlement: LB Ledarius Mack
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: DB Donnie Lewis
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: WR Alexander Hollins, CB Robert Jackson, OT Alex Taylor
- Placed on IR: TE Connor Davis, LB Montrel Meander
Dallas Cowboys
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: S Malik Hooker, WR CeeDee Lamb, S Israel Mukuamu, DT Carlos Watkins
Denver Broncos
- Signed: RB Stevie Scott
- Placed on IR: C Brett Jones
- Released: LB Pita Taumoepenu
- Waived: G Nolan Laufenberg
Detroit Lions
- Waived: DT P.J. Johnson, RB Javon Leake, OLB Robert McCray, QB Jordan Ta’amu
- Released: WR Darius Jennings
- Released from IR via injury settlement: OL Evan Boehm
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: TE Daniel Crawford
Houston Texans
- Waived: DT Auzoyah Alufohai, RB Darius Jackson, OL Drake Jackson
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: DT Joey Ivie, LB Skai Moore, TE Andrew Vollert
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: OT Devery Hamilton
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: RB Raymond Calais (injured), DB Paris Ford, QB Devlin Hodges
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: LB Christian Elliss, QB Danny Etling, DT Jordon Scott (waived/injured)
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: DE Carl Lawson (story)
- Signed: DE Aaron Adeoye, OL Isaiah Williams
- Waived: CB Corey Ballentine
Philadelphia Eagles
- Waived: WR Jhamon Ausbon, WR Hakeem Butler, C Harry Crider, S Lavert Hill
Seattle Seahawks
- Placed on IR: WR John Ursua
- Waived: DT Cedrick Lattimore, QB Alex McGough
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: OT Jonathan Hubbard
- Released from IR via injury settlement: Sam Renner
Tennessee Titans
- Claimed (from Bengals): DL Freedom Akinmoladun
- Waived/injured: OL Paul Adams, K Tucker McCann, G Ross Reynolds
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Anthony Rush
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/22/21
Here are today’s minor moves. All teams must reduce their roster size to 80 players by 4pm ET on Tuesday, August 24.
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Isaiah Coulter
Cincinnati Bengals
- Cut: DE Freedom Akinmoladun, QB Eric Dungey, S Kavon Frazier, C Lamont Gaillard, TE Cheyenne O’Grady
Minnesota Vikings
- Cut: WR Warren Jackson, CB Dylan Mabin
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Cary Angeline
- Placed on IR: TE Jason Croom
- Cut: Blake Countess
Seattle Seahawks
- Cut: TE Dominick Wood-Anderson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Cut: OLB Quinton Bell, CB Nate Brooks, RB Troymaine Pope, WR T.J. Simmons, S Lawrence White
Bengals To Sign DE Noah Spence
The Bengals are signing free agent defensive end Noah Spence, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports (via Twitter). Cincinnati brought Spence in for a workout several days ago in the wake of injuries to DLs Khalid Kareem and Joseph Ossai, and as Pelissero notes in a separate tweet, Ossai is likely to miss the entire 2021 campaign. The third-round rookie sustained a meniscus injury that will require surgery.
The loss of Ossai will be an especially difficult pill for the Bengals to swallow. The club mustered a league-worst 17 sacks in 2020, and while the free agent addition of Trey Hendrickson was supposed to help offset Carl Lawson‘s defection to the Jets, Cincy was also relying on Ossai to play a significant role in its pass rush. The Texas product did not disappoint in his preseason debut against the Bucs last week, piling up five pressures and sacking Tom Brady in an absolutely dominant showing.
Unfortunately, Ossai suffered a wrist injury during that game, and as he was being examined for that ailment the following day, he also noted that he was feeling some knee pain. Further examination of the knee revealed the depth of the problem (Twitter link via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic).
Spence, meanwhile, has not done much since a promising 5.5-sack performance in his rookie season with Tampa Bay in 2016. The former second-round pick did not make it to the final year of his rookie contract with the Bucs, as he was waived as part of final cutdowns in August 2019. He hooked on with Washington several weeks later, but after seven games with WFT yielded just one sack and three tackles, he was waived again.
The 27-year-old signed with the Saints later that year. He did not get into a game with New Orleans, but the club saw enough from him in practice to re-sign him to a one-year contract for 2020. Unfortunately, a torn ACL suffered in May of that year knocked him out for the season, and after he signed another one-year pact this March, Spence was unable to carve out a spot on the Saints’ roster. He was cut one week ago.
The Bengals hope that Spence can finally start to unlock some of his potential in the Queen City. They are going to need it.
DE Noah Spence Works Out For Bengals
Noah Spence is already starting to generate some interest around the NFL. After getting cut by the Saints earlier this week, the defensive end worked out for the Bengals today, reports Aaron Wilson (via Twitter).
An Ohio State cog who transferred to Eastern Kentucky, Spence flashed as a Bucs rookie by registering 5.5 sacks. However, the defensive end has only collected a pair of sacks since that 2016 campaign. His Tampa tenure ended following a 2018 season where he had only three tackles in 12 games, and despite getting into seven games for Washington in 2019, he finished with only three tackles and one sack.
He joined the Saints in late 2019, but a torn ACL forced him out for the entire 2020 season. Spence re-signed with New Orleans earlier this offseason, but he was cut by the organization on Sunday.
The former second-round pick would be hard pressed to earn a roster spot in Cincinnati, but if he does sign, he’ll have at least a temporary opportunity to show his stuff. Both Khalid Kareem and Joseph Ossai are currently sidelined with injuries, and while the duo isn’t expected to miss any regular season time, their absences will open up reps during the preseason.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/16/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Bryson Young
- Cut: LB Reggie Walker
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: OL Bryce Hargrove, LB George Obinna
- Reverted to IR: WR J’Mon Moore
Baltimore Ravens
- Re-signed: QB Kenji Bahar
- Placed on IR: CB Khalil Dorsey, CB Iman Marshall
Chicago Bears
- Waived: OL Gage Cervenka, DB Dionte Ruffin, WR Jester Weah
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: WR Reece Horn, WR Riley Lees
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on IR: TE Stephen Carlson, WR Ryan Switzer
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: OL Jon Dietzen, P Ryan Winslow
Houston Texans
- Waived: WR Isaiah Coulter
- Waived/injured: RB Dontrell Hilliard
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LS Matt Overton
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: K Austin MacGinnis, LB Derrick Moncrief, T Ryan Pope, OLB Max Roberts, DL George Silvanic
- Released from IR: DB Dayan Lake
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: WR Khalil McClain
- Waived: TE Carson Meier
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived/injured: K Riley Patterson, WR Blake Proehl
New York Giants
- Signed: QB Brian Lewerke
- Waived/injured: QB Clayton Thorson
- Placed on IR: LB TJ Brunson, OL Kyle Murphy, S Joshua Kalu
New York Jets
- Waived: K Chris Naggar
- Activated off PUP list: DL Quinnen Williams
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: LB Donald Payne, DL Eddie Vanderdoes
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: LB Nate Evans, OT Lukayus McNeil, CB Jordan Miller, DT Walter Palmore, WR Anthony Ratliff-Williams, RB Cameron Scarlett
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/15/21
Here are today’s minor moves. All teams must cut their rosters to 85 players by 4pm ET on Tuesday.
Buffalo Bills
- Cut: DL Eli Ankou, LB Mike Bell, OL Caleb Benenoch, G Marquel Harrell, OL Syrus Tuitele
Cincinnati Bengals
- Cut: TE Pro Wells
Detroit Lions
- Cut: CB Alex Brown
Minnesota Vikings
- Cut: LS Turner Bernard, DE Jordan Brailford
New England Patriots
- Cut: TE/DL Rashod Berry, WR Marvin Hall, OL Jerald Hawkins, TE David Wells
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Cut: CB Cameron Kinley, TE De’Quan Hampton and WR Josh Pearson
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE Deon Yelder
- Cut: TE Gabe Holmes
- Placed on IR: LB B.J. Bello
Washington Football Team
- Claimed (from Eagles): TE Caleb Wilson