Cole Croston

Patriots Open Cap Space After Settling Grievances

The Patriots have opened up a chunk of cap space after settling compensation grievances concerning a pair of former players. ESPN’s Mike Reiss (via Twitter) and Field Yates report that settlements regarding Antonio Brown ($4MM) and Aaron Hernandez ($2.55MM) have opened up around $6.5MM in cap space.

Brown filed a grievance against the Patriots back in September after the team refused to pay him a $10MM signing bonus following his release. New England was also left with $4.5MM in dead money from the Brown debacle.

While Hernandez was released by the Patriots seven years ago, the NFL Players Association was still fighting on the behalf of his estate regarding a $3.25MM guaranteed signing bonus that was previously withheld by the team. Following Hernandez’s arrest (and prior to his eventual conviction for first-degree murder), the player gave up $19.3MM in non-guaranteed money while the organization voided the rest of his guaranteed money. The team also looked to recoup some of the bonus money that had already been paid out.

As Yates notes on Twitter, the Patriots started the week with less than $500K in cap space. Following today’s news and the Rex Burkhead restructuring from earlier this week, New England now has close to $7.8MM in space.

As Sports Illustrated’s Devon Clements pointed out back in February, the Patriots also had a pair of active grievances with defensive lineman David Parry ($179K) and offensive lineman Cole Croston ($163K). The status of those grievances hasn’t been reported.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/12/19

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: DE Thomas Costigan
  • Waived/injured: TE Andrew Vollert

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/30/19

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Waived: OLB/DE Markus Jones

Buffalo Bills

  • Retired: OL Isaac Asiata

Detroit Lions

  • Signed: DT Frederick Jones
  • Waived: WR Brandon Reilly

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: WR Roger Lewis, OG Ian Silberman
  • Waived: LB Drew Lewis, OG William Poehls

New England Patriots

  • Signed: OT Martez Ivey
  • Waived/Injured: OL Cole Croston

New York Jets

  • Signed: OL Ryan Anderson, CB Dee Delaney
  • Waived: LB Jeff Allison, OL Toa Lobendahn

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Placed on IR: TE Troy Niklas

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 2/6/19

Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2019 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

  • RB Martez Carter

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/8/18

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Buffalo Bills

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/6/18

Today’s minor moves:

Los Angeles Rams

New York Giants

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Patriots To Cut WR Bennie Fowler

The Patriots signed both Bennie Fowler and Corey Coleman on the same day earlier this week but will keep only one of them on their roster going into Week 2.

Fowler received word the Patriots will cut him, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). New England will sign offensive lineman Cole Croston from its practice squad, per Rapoport (on Twitter).

This marks the second time in a month Fowler’s been cut. The Bears moved on from the veteran wide receiver prior to their regular-season opener, despite signing him in free agency. The Patriots will go into their Week 2 Jaguars tilt with Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett, Cordarrelle Patterson and Coleman as their wideouts.

Best known for catching Peyton Manning‘s final NFL pass, a two-point conversion in Super Bowl 50, Fowler spent three seasons on the Broncos’ active roster but has yet to establish himself elsewhere. While this could be a temporary move based on needs at other positions, with Croston joining a Pats team that may or may not have right tackle Marcus Cannon available Sunday and the fact Coleman’s been jettisoned by two teams in the past month, for now the 27-year-old Fowler is again unattached.

Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC East

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC East 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 Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, and Jets are noted below.

Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT 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 East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Buffalo Bills

Claimed:

Cut:

Practice squad:

Miami Dolphins

Claimed:

Placed on injured reserve:

Cut:

Practice squad:

New England Patriots

Claimed:

Placed on injured reserve:

Practice squad:

New York Jets

Practice squad:

Patriots Make Roster Cuts

The Patriots are the latest team to move to 53 players by making the following transactions:

Placed on injured reserve:

Cut:

New England kept only three true wide receivers on its initial roster, meaning the club will almost surely be searching for more options on the waiver wire.

AFC Notes: Clowney, Darnold, Patriots

The Texans are hoping to work out a long-term extension with star LB/DE Jadeveon Clowney this offseason, and the former No. 1 overall selection has expressed his desire to remain in Houston, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Clowney, a two-time Pro Bowler, said, “I want to be [in Houston] forever. It would be great, something I always dreamed of. I don’t want to leave this team. I’ve been here since the beginning. I want to stay here. I want to finish my career here, so I’m looking forward to that. Hopefully, they lock me in.”

As Wilson notes, a new contract for Clowney could make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league, a mantle currently held by Denver’s Von Miller and his six-year, $114MM ($70MM guaranteed) deal. The Texans would like to get something done prior to the season, or even prior to training camp.

Now for more notes and rumors from around the AFC:

  • Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union offers his thoughts on a number of Jaguars-related items. For instance, he believes that, the longer Jacksonville is without a No. 2 QB, the likelier it is that the team uses a fairly high draft pick on a signal-caller. He also says the Jags need another versatile TE to continue running their grind-it-out offense, and he wonders if the fact that the team put a second-round tender on Corey Grant — which Grant signed several days ago — means that Grant will have a bigger role in the offense in 2018.
  • We already heard that top QB prospect Sam Darnold looked very good at USC’s recent pro day, and per Albert Breer of SI.com, Darnold himself said he is “trying to go to Cleveland” (meaning, of course, that he wants to be the No. 1 overall selection). Indeed, one AFC executive who attended the pro day told Breer, “Everyone out there today saw the Browns’ franchise quarterback.” Breer adds that post-combine buzz has pointed towards a Darnold-Cleveland marriage.
  • The Bengals may appear to be out of the running for the top safeties still on the free agent market — players like Kenny Vaccaro and Eric Reid — but Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer believes that the club is still monitoring those and other players to see if their price drops enough to make a move.
  • Patriots safety Duron Harmon, who was denied entry into Costa Rica after attempting to bring marijuana into the country — and who was briefly detained before being sent back to the United States — issued an apology for his actions via Instagram. Harmon is not expected to be released, though he could be entered into the league’s drug program and face a suspension from the league or the team. It is unclear at this point if he will face any criminal charges.
  • Now that the Patriots have lost Nate Solder and Cameron Fleming, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com looks at the battle for the Patriots’ starting left tackle position. The newly-resigned LaAdrian Waddle could be a factor, as could 2017 third-rounder Antonio Garcia. Garcia missed his rookie season due to blood clots in his lung, and while he has been cleared to play, he has lost a lot of weight and has a lot of ground to make up. Reiss says 2017 UDFA Cole Croston is an ascending player and could be a realistic candidate for the LT job.