Devon Cajuste

Browns Make Minor Trade With Saints

The Browns have reached the 53-man roster maximum by making a whole lot of cuts and acquiring one player just before the bell.

On Saturday, the Browns announced that they acquired defensive lineman Devaroe Lawrence from the Saints in exchange for a 2019 seventh-round pick. Lawrence, 26 in October, overcame legal trouble as a youngster to achieve his dream of making it to the NFL. Injuries have held him back in the pros, but the Saints stuck by him even after ACL surgery in December of 2016.

We felt he was athletic, explosive and we felt like he could recover,” said Saints coach Sean Payton (via Luke Johnson of The Times-Picayune). “In other words, he was battling an injury and we saw traits that are hard to find sometimes for defensive tackles, and it’s hard to find that position, especially after the draft.”

So, with Lawrence in the fold, the Browns waived the following 19 players to get down to the limit:

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/31/18

Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2018 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

NFL Workout Updates: 12/4/17

Here’s today’s workout news from around the NFL:

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

 

 

NFL Workout Updates: 11/30/17

Here are the latest workout and visit updates, courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer unless otherwise noted.

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Green Bay Packers

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

Oakland Raiders

San Francisco 49ers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/27/16

Tuesday’s practice squad changes:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: DE Martin Ifedi, TE Darion Griswold

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed: QB Dustin Vaughan

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: WR Antwan Goodley
  • Placed on P-Squad IR: TE Devon Cajuste

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: WR Brandon Shippen

New York Giants

  • Signed: QB Keith Wenning, RB Jacob Huesman, S Ryan Murphy

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: TE Eric Williams (Twitter links via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
  • Placed on P-Squad IR: LB Kache Palacio

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/7/16

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

Buffalo Bills

  • Signed: TE Gerald Christian, DT Deandre Coleman
  • Cut: S Damian Parms (Twitter link via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com)

Chicago Bears

  • Signed: OT Laurence Gibson (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune)

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Signed: LB P.J. Dawson (Twitter link via Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer)

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: TE Devon Cajuste (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky) www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-0565217041112373473-4
  • Cut: LB Beniquez Brown

New England Patriots

  • Signed: LB Quentin Gause
  • Cut: DE Rufus Johnson (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss)

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed: DT Ashaad Mabry (link via Herbie Teope of the Times-Picayune)

49ers Acquire Rod Streater, Trim Roster To 53

12:25pm: Maiocco tweets that McCray is likely to be placed on waivers following the failed trade.

MONDAY, 9:40am: McCray reportedly failed his physical, and NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo indicates (via Twitter) that the deal is off. The safety was originally traded to the Seahawks for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2018.

The safety is set to go back to the 49ers for the time being. Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle notes (via Twitter) that McCray is recovering from a torn ACL and is likely to be released.

SUNDAY, 5:30pm: The wideout announced that he’s officially been dealt to the 49ers, while CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Maiocco tweets that Streater presumably passed his physical.

SATURDAY, 4:14pm: The 49ers announced they they’ve acquired wide receiver Rod Streater from the Chiefs. Streater had spent his career in Oakland before signing with Kansas City, and now he’ll head back to the Bay Area with a chance to make an impact in a depleted WR corps.

San Francisco also announced that they’ve traded safety L.J. McCray to the Seahawks. The compensation involved in both deals has not been announced.

Cut:

Lemonier was the 49ers’ third-round pick in 2013, but he never made much of an impact in San Francisco. In 42 games (two starts), Lemonier picked up 37 tackles and a sack.

49ers Sign DeForest Buckner, Draftees, UDFAs

The 49ers have confirmed the previously-reported signings of sixth-round draft picks Kelvin Taylor and Jeff Driskel, and announced nearly two dozen more roster moves to go along with those signings. In a press release, the Niners said they have waived four players from their 90-man roster, signed nine draft picks (including Taylor and Driskel), and added 12 undrafted free agents to the mix.DeForest Buckner

San Francisco’s most notable transaction is the signing of defensive lineman DeForest Buckner, who becomes the highest-drafted player to ink his rookie contract so far. Buckner, a standout at Oregon, was snagged by the 49ers with the seventh overall pick in last week’s draft, and is in line for a four-year contract worth more than $18.19MM, including a signing bonus of approximately $11.43MM. His deal also features a fifth-year option for 2020.

Listed below are the other draftees signed today by the 49ers, in addition to Buckner, Taylor, and Driskel. Only first-round guard Joshua Garnett and third-round defensive back Will Redmond are still unsigned:

While the 49ers had plenty of space on their roster for their draft picks, the team didn’t have much extra flexibility to add more than a handful of undrafted free agents. As such, San Francisco has cut four veterans: offensive lineman Jordan Devey, kicker Corey Acosta, running back Kendall Gaskins, and quarterback Dylan Thompson.

Devey is perhaps the most notable name in this group — the 49ers didn’t make many headlines when they acquired him from the Patriots in a trade for tight end Asante Cleveland last August, but Devey unexpectedly made his way into the club’s starting lineup to open the season. Although he was replaced down the stretch, the 28-year-old made nine starts and played nearly 400 offensive snaps for San Francisco in 2015.

With a few spots cleared on their 90-man roster, the Niners officially added 12 undrafted free agents. Here’s the full list of those UDFAs:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Draft Notes: Cravens, Lawson, Hogan

Let’s round up some draft notes to close out this Tuesday evening:

  • Contrary to prior reports, USC linebacker Su’a Cravens will not be holding any private workouts for interested clubs, according to agent Fadde Mikhail (article via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). Mikhail said, “There have been too many teams that have called to set up private workouts, and I think Su’a’s body of work on film speaks for itself.” Cravens played linebacker for much of 2015, but many teams view him as a safety at the next level, and he is seen as a late first-round or early second-round prospect. As Florio notes, the decision not to work out for teams is gradually becoming more popular with some agents, who believe the reward of potentially increased draft positioning does not justify the risk of an injury that could be sustained at a workout. Greg Gabriel of NFPost.com, however, disagrees with that line of thinking, as he thinks private workouts are a critical part of the draft process that allow a team to learn more about a player’s talent and personality. He adds that Mikhail’s decision will cause Cravens’ draft stock to drop (Twitter links).
  • Clemson DE Shaq Lawson, who already has a number of visits/workouts lined up, will also visit with the Lions, according to Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press.
  • The Eagles worked out Stanford QB Kevin Hogan, WR/TE Devon Cajuste, and LB Blake Martinez today, according to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (Twitter links).
  • 16 teams showed up to watch LB Victor Ochi at Stony Brook’s pro day yesterday, per Pauline, who adds that the Colts privately worked out Illinois State running back Marshaun Coprich (post via WalterFootball.com).
  • UCLA KR/WR Devin Fuller worked out for “multiple members of the Falcons braintrust” yesterday, according to Rand Getlin of The NFL Network (via Twitter).
  • Minnesota CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun will visit with the Vikings next week, according to Darren Wolfson of KTSP (via Twitter).
  • The Bengals were on hand at Western Kentucky’s pro day today to watch TE Tyler Higbee, as Robert Klemko of SI.com tweets.
  • Temple CB Tavon Young will work out for the Cardinals, Jets, Titans, and Ravens, and will visit the Steelers and Ravens, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (article via NFPost.com).