Minor NFL Transactions: 9/2/19
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: DB Brynden Trawick
- Placed on IR: CB Iman Marshall
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: G John Jerry
- Placed on IR: G O’Shea Dugas
Detroit Lions
- Waived/Injured: WR Andy Jones
Green Bay Packers
- Released: LB James Crawford
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: S Rolan Milligan
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: C Coleman Shelton
- Placed on IR: OLB Justin Lawler
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Albert McClellan
- Placed on IR: OL Brent Qvale
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Josh Mauro, LB Kyle Wilber
- Placed on IR: Isaiah Johnson
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: FB Nick Bellore
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Claimed: RB T.J. Logan (from Cardinals) Waived: DL Pat O’Connor
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DT Treyvon Hester
- Claimed: LB Tanner Vallejo (from Cardinals)
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/2/19
We’ll keep track of Monday’s practice squad moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Jamal Carter, WR Brandon Powell
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: G Sam Jones
- Released: QB Drew Anderson, WR A.J. Richardson
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: QB Davis Webb, WR Tyron Johnson, LB Nate Hall
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: OT Wyatt Miller
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: WR Ventell Bryant, QB Clayton Thorson
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LB Jason Cabinda
- Released: TE Austin Traylor
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Jamal Davis, RB Quinton Flowers, DT Brian Price, WR Chad Williams
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: QB Chase Litton
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DB Alex Brown, LB Emmanuel Smith, DE Cameron Malveaux, DB Torry McTyer
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OT Zach Sterup, LB Terrill Hanks
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: WR Davion Davis
New England Patriots
- Signed: DE Gerri Green, G Najee Toran, G Colby Gossett
- Released: OT Tyree St. Louis
New York Giants
- Signed:CB Corn Elder, WR David Sills
New York Jets
- Signed: RB Josh Adams and TE Ian Bunting WR/KR Greg Dortch
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: WR Marcell Ateman, DE Quinton Bell, G Lester Cotton, Sr., RB Damarea Crockett, WR Rico Gafford, CB Dylan Mabin, CB Nick Nelson, LB Justin Phillips, DT Anthony Rush, TE Eric Saubert
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: CB Craig James
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: WR Johnny Holton
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OT Ryan Pope
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: CB Ryan Neal, OL Kahlil McKenzie, DE Jachai Polite
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: TE Jordan Leggett, RB Tony Brooks-James
Washington Redskins
- Signed: LB Chris Odom
Four Teams Wanted Wendell Smallwood
Of all the players to hit the waiver wire over the weekend, Wendell Smallwood was the most popular. Before the former Eagles running back was ultimately grabbed by the Redskins, the Colts, Jaguars, and Bengals all placed claims on him, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter).
The Redskins quietly boast a deep running back group with redshirt rookie Derrius Guice, future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson, pass-catching specialist Chris Thompson, Byron Marshall, and Smallwood. Fun fact: No Eagles RB had more rushing yards over the last three years than Smallwood.
He would have been a logical fit for the Colts, Jags, and Bengals as well. For the Bengals, Smallwood would have provided depth behind Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard in the wake of Rodney Anderson’s season-ending torn ACL. The Colts, meanwhile, only just got Jordan Wilkins back on the practice field and they still await Jonathan Williams‘ return. And the Jaguars, who just had to place Alfred Blue on IR, likely preferred Smallwood to Tyler Ervin and Devine Ozigbo, the two RBs they picked up on Sunday.
Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC North
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Ravens, Bengals, Browns, and Steelers are noted below.
Additionally, as of today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed to practice squad:
- DE Aaron Adeoye
- OL Marcus Applefield
- CB Maurice Canady
- FB Christopher Ezeala
- WR Sean Modster
- LB Donald Payne
- OL R.J. Prince
- TE Charles Scarff
- DE Zach Sieler
- RB De’Lance Turner
- WR Antoine Wesley
Cincinnati Bengals
- Claimed:
- WR Pharoh Cooper
- RB Samaje Perine
- Waived:
- RB Josh Malone
- LB Hardy Nickerson
- Signed to practice squad:
- TE Moritz Böhringer
- CB Anthony Chesley
- LB Noah Dawkins
- HB Jordan Ellis
- TE Jordan Franks
- S Trayvon Henderson
- WR Stanley Morgan
- TE Mason Schreck
- G Keaton Sutherland
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed:
- Waived:
- Placed on IR:
- OL Drew Forbes
- Signed to practice squad:
- DT Brandin Bryant
- TE Stephen Carlson
- WR Shelton Gibson
- LB Willie Harvey
- S J.T. Hassell
- CB Robert Jackson
- DB Tigie Sankoh*
- WR Derrick Willies
- C Willie Wright
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed to practice squad:
- S Marcus Allen
- RB Trey Edmunds
- OL Derwin Gray
- WR Tevin Jones
- S Trevon Mathis
- DL Henry Mondeaux
- OL Patrick Morris
- TE Kevin Rader
- TE Christian Scotland-Williamson
- LB Robert Spillane
* = International Pathway Program player
A.J. Green Not Going On Injured Reserve
Some moderately good news for Bengals fans. Star receiver A.J. Green will not start the season on injured reserve, per Geoff Hobson of the team’s official site (Twitter link).
New Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor apparently said he “feels like he’ll be back before eight weeks.” While it’s good to know Green isn’t going on IR, that doesn’t exactly sound like a ringing endorsement of his health. Last we heard a month ago, the feeling was that he would miss a few regular season games with his ankle injury. If he had started the year on injured reserve, he would’ve had to have missed at least the first eight.
Green is important enough to the Bengals’ offense that it’s obviously worth it to save his roster spot for a few weeks rather than making him miss two months. Green is still one of the league’s better receivers when healthy, but he’s 31 now and dealing with a significant injury for the second straight season. In 2018, foot issues limited the Georgia product to just nine games. The Bengals will be leaning heavily on Tyler Boyd, who they extended this offseason, in his absence.
Bengals Trim Roster To 53
The Bengals announced their final 53-man roster. One of the moves will be, as expected, placing Darqueze Dennard on their reserve/PUP list. Dennard now must miss at least the first six games of the season. This comes after the Bengals re-signed their former first-round pick on a one-year, $5MM deal. The team knew Dennard needed a post-signing knee surgery, but the arthroscopic procedure was performed several months ago.
Cincinnati is also placing Jonah Williams on its PUP list instead of season-ending IR. While the first-round tackle was believed to be set to miss the season, this move is a way of retaining a chance he can recover. Williams would revert to IR if he cannot recover from the shoulder injury he sustained this offseason.
Here’s the full list of the Bengals’ moves to meet the 53-man limit:
Placed on Reserve/Injured list:
- RB Rodney Anderson (rookie, Oklahoma; knee injury)
- QB Jeff Driskel (fourth-year player, Louisiana Tech; hamstring injury)
Placed on the Reserve/PUP list:
- CB Darqueze Dennard (sixth-year player, Michigan State; knee injury)
- OT Jonah Williams (rookie, Alabama; shoulder injury)
Released:
- G John Jerry (ninth-year player, Mississippi)
Waived:
- TE Moritz Böhringer (first-year player, Aalen [Germany])
- CB Jordan Brown (rookie, South Dakota State)
- WR Ventell Bryant (rookie, Temple)
- CB Anthony Chesley (rookie, Coastal Carolina)
- WR Cody Core (fourth-year player, Mississippi)
- LB Deshaun Davis (rookie, Auburn)
- LB Noah Dawkins (rookie, The Citadel)
- HB Jordan Ellis (rookie, Virginia)
- OT Justin Evans (first-year player, South Carolina State)
- HB Quinton Flowers (first-year player, South Florida)
- TE Jordan Franks (second-year player, Central Florida)
- CB Davontae Harris (second-year player, Illinois State)
- S Trayvon Henderson (second-year player, Hawaii)
- LB Malik Jefferson (second-year player, Texas)
- S Tyree Kinnel (rookie, Michigan)
- C Brad Lundblade (first-year player, Oklahoma State)
- WR Stanley Morgan (rookie, Nebraska)
- CB KeiVarae Russell (fourth-year player, Notre Dame)
- TE Mason Schreck (third-year player, Buffalo)
- WR Hunter Sharp (first-year player, Utah State; injury settlement)
- G Keaton Sutherland (rookie, Texas A&M)
Suspended:
- G Alex Redmond (third-year player, UCLA, suspended for four games)
All of the waived players, except for Core, will be practice squad eligible if they clear waivers.
Bengals Waive 11 Players
The Bengals have taken a considerable step towards reaching the 53-man max on Saturday by waiving the following eleven players:
- LB Curtis Akins
- C Kirk Barron
- S Demetrious Cox
- LS Dan Godsil
- CB Tony Lippett
- DT Dare Odeyingbo
- DT Christian Ringo (injury settlement)
- LB Sterling Sheffield
- DE Immanuel Turner
- K Tristan Vizcaino
- G Christian Westerman
Lippett, one of the more recognizable names on the list, hooked on with the Bengals exactly 30 days ago. The former second-round pick offered familiarity with defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, but it wasn’t enough to keep him in the fold.
Colts, Texans, Browns Lead NFL In Cap Space
On Tuesday morning, the NFL released a report of every team’s cap space. The total number accounts for the top-51 cap numbers on every team’s roster. Therefore, these numbers will naturally change before next week as teams set their 53-man rosters (although the 52nd- and 53rd-ranked cap numbers (and beyond) for each team will hardly change anything).
It’s also worth noting that there have been a handful of extensions, trades, signings, and cuts since this report was released. However, there weren’t any significant moves that would drastically alter these rankings.
Why are these numbers important at this time of year? Well, rosters will be trimmed on Saturday, meaning an influx of players will hit the open market. While we can’t imagine any roster casualties earning a lucrative contract from a new team, these numbers can help illustrate the monetary advantage one organization has over another. These numbers are also useful in regards to any potential trades or extensions.
With help from TheMMQB.com’s Albert Breer on Twitter, we’ve listed the league’s cap space totals (as of Tuesday morning) below:
- Indianapolis Colts: $56.6MM
- Houston Texans: $37.0MM
- Cleveland Browns: $34.6MM
- Dallas Cowboys: $26.1MM
- Tennessee Titans: $26.0MM
- San Francisco 49ers: $25.5MM
- Buffalo Bills: $23.3MM
- Miami Dolphins: $22.1MM
- Chicago Bears: $22.1MM
- Washington Redskins: $21.7MM
- Detroit Lions: $21.5MM
- Kansas City Chiefs: $21MM
- Cincinnati Bengals: $19.7MM
- Seattle Seahawks: $19.5MM
- Philadelphia Eagles: $18.6MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars: $18.2MM
- Oakland Raiders: $17.3MM
- Los Angeles Chargers: $16.4MM
- Green Bay Packers: $15.2MM
- New York Jets: $14.9MM
- New England Patriots: $14.1MM
- Baltimore Ravens: $13.4MM
- New Orleans Saints $7.5MM
- Carolina Panthers $5.9MM
- Los Angeles Rams $5.6MM
- New York Giants $5.5MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers $4.9MM
- Minnesota Vikings $4.7MM
- Arizona Cardinals $4.7MM
- Denver Broncos $4.4MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers $4.3MM
- Atlanta Falcons $3.4MM
Bengals Notes: Price, Green, Dennard, QBs
After losing starters Clint Boling and Jonah Williams this offseason, the Bengals will have another new first-stringer up front. They are set to bench center Billy Price, a 2018 first-round pick, for veteran Trey Hopkins, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic tweets. This marks a setback in Price’s development. The Ohio State alum struggled as a rookie, playing in only 10 games and grading as Pro Football Focus’ fourth-worst full-time center. A sixth-year UDFA who has made 21 Bengals starts over the past two seasons, Hopkins fared better in 589 snaps in 2018. He graded as PFF’s No. 21 snapper and will parlay that into a Week 1 job.
Additionally, Price’s former Ohio State teammate, fourth-round rookie guard Michael Jordan, will be Cincinnati’s left guard starter. Should an injury befall Hopkins, Jordan or starting left guard John Miller, Dehner adds (via Twitter) Price will return to center.
Here is the latest out of southwest Ohio:
- Darqueze Dennard is expected to begin the season on the Bengals’ reserve/PUP list, according to Geoff Hobson of the team’s website. The recently re-signed cornerback underwent knee surgery before re-upping with the Bengals. While the team knew Dennard would need surgery after re-signing him, it is certainly a bad sign when a player on a one-year deal will be out at least six regular-season games. Dennard signed for $4.5MM in March.
- A.J. Green will join Dennard in being out for the start of the season, and it’s uncertain when the perennial Pro Bowl wideout will return. But Hobson adds the Bengals will still attempt to extend Green, who is entering his age-31 season. The Bengals already extended Tyler Boyd. Earlier this offseason, Green expressed a desire to stay in Cincinnati after his 2019 contract year. But that was before he suffered an ankle injury that is expected to keep him out of multiple September games.
- While Green recovers, a rookie UDFA will take his place. Damion Willis will start alongside Boyd, Zac Taylor said (via Dehner, on Twitter). Willis was part of Cincinnati’s initial post-draft free agent class, signing with the team out of Troy. He has certainly enjoyed a standout preseason.
- Ryan Finley has commandeered the Bengals’ backup job, and the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Tyler Dragon expects this to push Jeff Driskel off the roster. Driskel has run into hamstring trouble and was making an attempt to show versatility by lining up at wide receiver recently. The former sixth-round pick started five games last season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/26/19
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Buffalo Bills
- Claimed off waivers from Cardinals: LB/DE Jeff Holland
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: C Kirk Barron
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: CB Jhavonte Dean
Detroit Lions
- Signed: QB Luis Perez, RB Justin Stockton
- Waived: WR Deontez Alexander
Houston Texans
- Placed on IR: RB Lamar Miller, T David Steinmetz
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: S Micah Abernathy, S Jacob Thieneman
- Waived: S Matthias Farley
Miami Dolphins
- Released: OL Will Holden
New England Patriots
- Waived: RB Robert Martin
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on IR: TE Garrett Griffin
New York Jets
- Signed: S Santos Ramirez
- Waived: CB Dee Delaney
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DB Jordan Holland
- Placed on IR: CB Tim Harris Jr.