David Foucault

NFL Workout Updates: 10/11/16

We’ll keep track of the day’s auditions here:

  • The Buccaneers will work out defensive end Chris McCain on Wednesday, reports Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). McCain, who was traded from Miami to New Orleans during the offseason before ultimately being waived, has appeared in 19 games over the past two seasons.
  • After being released by the Redskins last week, veteran defensive end Kendall Reyes landed a workout with the Texans, who are still trying to replace J.J. Watt, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Houston also tried out defensive lineman Lars Koht, per Kaplan.
  • The Dolphins worked out cornerbacks Darrin Walls and Blidi Wreh-Wilson before signing Chimdi Chekwa, tweets Caplan, who adds that Miami also auditioned offensive tackle David Foucault. The Dolphins also worked out linebacker Trevor Reilly, according to Howard Balzer (Twitter link).
  • Former Buffalo outside linebacker Randell Johnson is visiting the Jets today, as Alex Marvez of the Sporting News tweets. New York also worked out tight end Mitchell Henry, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link).
  • The Seahawks worked out defensive end Malliciah Goodman on Monday, reports Rand Getlin (on Twitter). Goodman played for Atlanta in his first three NFL seasons. Seattle also took a look at tight end Alex Bayer, defensive end Josh Boyd, cornerback Trae Elston, safety Jordan Lomax, and visited with safety Elijah Shumate, per Balzer (Twitter link).
  • The Panthers auditioned offensive tackles Michael Bowie and Pearce Slater, as well as cornerbacks Randall Evans, Tyler Patmon, and Kevin Short, tweets Balzer. Cleveland placed Bowie on the retired list earlier this year, but he’s apparently had a change of heart.
  • Offensive tackle Pierce Burton worked out for the Colts today, according to Balzer (Twitter link).

Panthers’ Roster Now At 79

The Panthers have begun the process of trimming their roster down to 75 players, an undertaking that must be completed by 3pm CT Tuesday. Carolina has cut the following 11 players, the club announced:

Hill, a former second-round pick of the Jets, is the most notable name among those released/waived. The 25-year-old, who spent the 2014 campaign on the Panthers’ practice squad, looked poised to claim a roster spot last season before suffering a season-ending injury. Smith, for his part, also has significant NFL experience, as he’s appeared 29 career games.

Panthers Sign Eight To Futures Contracts

Having concluded their season on Sunday, the Panthers have begun to sign players to their 90-man offseason roster, inking eight players to reserve/futures contracts on Tuesday. The team’s official website has the complete list of signees, all of whom finished the season on Carolina’s practice squad:Panthers Helmet (Featured)

With eight of the 10 Panthers practice squad players re-signing with the team, only defensive end Wes Horton and linebacker Nate Askew didn’t get new deals. It’s possible that Carolina didn’t offer either player a futures contract, but it also wouldn’t be a surprise if Horton, at least, wanted to explore other opportunities.

An undrafted rookie in 2013, Horton made 15 starts for the Panthers last season in place of suspended teammate Greg Hardy. Following a rookie campaign that saw him compile eight tackles and two sacks, the former USC standout finished 2014 with 26 tackles and three sacks. However, he returned to a bench role in 2015, then was suspended four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing substances, before ultimately being cut from the 53-man roster in December. He signed with Carolina’s practice squad at the start of the postseason.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/7/15

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from across the NFL:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

New York Giants

San Diego Chargers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/6/15

Today’s minor signings, cuts, and other moves..

  • The Panthers signed defensive end Wes Horton just days after cutting him, as Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer tweets. To make room, offensive tackle offensive tackle David Foucault has been waived. If Foucault clears waivers, he will be signed to the practice squad, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Rams have re-signed linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar to the roster, Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch tweets.
  • The Bears have promoted tackle Nick Becton from the taxi squad to the 53-man roster, as Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune tweets.
  • The Buccaneers announced that they have promoted defensive end Howard Jones to the active roster from the practice squad.
  • Also, Buccaneers defensive end T.J. Fatinikun has been placed on IR after suffering a knee injury in the second half of Sunday’s game against Carolina. He had just returned from a shoulder injury to appear in the Bucs’ last two games, recording one tackle and two stops on special teams. Last year, his first in the NFL, Fatinikun played in ten Buccaneer games and had eight tackles and a half-sack.
  • The Saints signed veteran tackle Tony Hills, as Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Panthers Waive Wes Horton

The Panthers have waived defensive end Wes Horton, the team announced on Twitter. Offensive tackle David Foucault has been promoted from the practice squad to take the open roster spot.

Horton, an undrafted rookie in 2013, made 15 starts for the Panthers last season in place of suspended teammate Greg Hardy. Following a rookie campaign that saw him compile eight tackles and two sacks, the former USC standout finished 2014 with 26 tackles and three sacks.

The 25-year-old hasn’t seen much of the field in 2015, as ProFootballFocus.com (subscription required) has him down for 58 snaps. However, the site does rate him positively for his run defense, the first time he’s received an above-average grade in his career.

Foucault was a first-round pick in the 2014 CFL draft, but he ultimately joined the Panthers during last season’s rookie camp. The 26-year-old made five appearances in 2014, including one start. With Amini Silatolu expected to sit out this weekend’s game, the team needed reinforcement at offensive tackle.

Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC South

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC South 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 Falcons, Panthers, Saints, and Buccaneers are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. 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 NFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

New Orleans Saints

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Panthers Organize Regular-Season Roster

The Panthers cut 22 players to officially reduce their roster to 53, reports Max Henson of Panthers.com.

In addition to placing rookie defensive end Arthur Miley on injured reserve and reaching an injury settlement with offensive lineman Brian Folkerts, the Panthers cut Jordan Todman. This leaves Fozzy Whittaker and Cameron Artis-Payne as Jonathan Stewart‘s primary backups.

The remaining Carolina cuts are as follows:

  • Chas Alecxih, DT
  • Marcus Ball, S
  • Brenton Bersin, WR
  • Brian Blechen, LB
  • Mike Brown, WR
  • Carrington Byndom, CB
  • Damiere Byrd, WR
  • Rakim Cox, DE
  • David Foucault, T
  • Adarius Glanton, LB
  • T.J. Heath, CB
  • Ricky Henry, G
  • Marcus Lucas, TE
  • Jordan McCray, G
  • Terry Redden, DT
  • Scott Simonson, TE
  • Jason Trusnik, LB
  • Martin Wallace, T
  • Lou Young, CB

Panthers Cut Eight Players

1:28pm: Carolina has cut second-year safety Robert Lester, according to Person (via Twitter).

1:25pm: According to The Charlotte Observer’s Joe Person (via Twitter), the Panthers have also cut rookie cornerback Carrington Byndom. Person notes that the team is hoping to bring him back on their practice squad.

10:18am: The Panthers have started the process of trimming down their roster, and among the notable cuts is guard Chris Scott (first reported by ProFootballTalk.com on Twitter). The former Steelers fifth-round pick finally caught on with Carolina in 2013, starting eight games.

The rest of the Panthers moves are below:

NFC South Notes: Bucs, Panthers, Saints

The NFL is a grown man’s league, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have taken notice.

First-round receiver Mike Evans and second-round tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins both stand 6 feet 5, imposing figures amongst their defensive counterparts. Both players have basketball backgrounds. As the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud writes, the Bucs and coach Lovie Smith like their basketball players.

“My experience is that anybody can’t go out there and play basketball,” Smith said. “It takes a good athlete with quickness, size, vertical (jump). Normally, that translates to getting good production on the football field.”

Stroud points out a number of former hoopsters who excelled in pro football, including Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham. Getting position on your defender in football is similar to boxing out for a rebound in basketball, and it looks like the Bucs are hoping to cash in on the trend.

More from the NFC South below…

  • With a potential opening at punt returner, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times reports the Bucs gave third-round pick Charles Sims, sixth-round pick Robert Herron and undrafted receiver Solomon Patton a shot to impress coaches at Saturday’s minicamp.
  • The Panthers are expected to sign 6-foot-8, 320-pound tackle David Foucault, says Joseph Parson of the Charlotte Observer. The University of Montreal product impressed during the two-day rookie minicamp and figures to be the second Canadian lineman to sign with the team after coming to camp on a tryout basis.
  • The signing of former Browns receiver Greg Little has been discussed by Panthers brass, but the team is not planning to sign him at this point, two sources told Person.
  • There’s no denying the talent of Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy, says Jonathan Jones of the Observer. But, his recent actions have his future in question.
  • In a heartwarming story, Saints coach Sean Payton announced the team signed former Tulane safety Devon Walker, who was paralyzed from the neck down in 2012, Andrew Lopez of The Times-Picayune writes.
  • After spending 2013 in the Arena Football League, former LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson was on hand at Saints minicamp Saturday as a tryout invitee, Lopez reports.