Donald Celiscar

NFC North Notes: Wallace, Lions, Megatron

Mike Wallace knows that his hefty contract could make this a one-and-done season with the Vikings, as Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press writes. Wallace is making $9.9MM this year and due to earn $11.5MM in 2016, but next year’s salary is not guaranteed. Meanwhile, Minnesota is pretty stacked at wide receiver, a stable that includes rookie Stefon Diggs.

I’m not stupid. I’m a pretty smart guy. I understand everything,” Wallace said. “When you go to look at that, that’s a lot of money to leave out there that you want to get, but you have to make plays to get those numbers up. We’ll see.

So far, Wallace has just 27 receptions for 296 yards. At that pace, his 54 catches would be fewest since his rookie year, and 592 yards would be a career-low. Diggs, meanwhile, hasĀ 28 catches for 461 yards despite being inactive for the first three of Minnesota’s eight games.

Here’s more fromĀ the NFC North:

  • Lions interim GM Sheldon White was non-committal when asked about the futures of Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes. Stafford, 27, has struggled for most of the season and the Lions can get out from his deal this offseason with just an $11MM cap hit. Johnson, 30, is one of the most talented receivers in the game, but at his age he’s likely not worth the ~$16MM salary he’s due to make next year, a rate that comes with a whopping $24MM cap hit.
  • Contrary to published reports, two people familiar with the situation told Larry Lage of The Associated Press that the Lions have not hired a firm to assist them with their search for new executives.
  • In a separate piece, Birkett wonders if ex-Lions GM Martin Mayhew could get another chance to be a GM elsewhere. For what it’s worth, former Lions senior personnel executive Shack Harris feels that Mayhew should get another shot.
  • Per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Packers tried out several defensive players today, including cornerbacks Donald Celiscar and Joel Ross, linebacker Derrick Mathews, and defensive end B.J. McBryde.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Colts Cut Donald Thomas, Trim Roster To 75

3:26pm: The Colts are down to 75 players, after announcing this afternoon that they’ve waived/injured cornerback Deveron Carr. Carr will land on the team’s IR list if he clears waivers.

8:23am: In addition to releasing Thomas, the Colts have also cut 11 other players this morning, and placed two more on reserve lists, reducing their roster to 76 players. Here’s the full list of Indianapolis roster moves:

Cut:

  • Harland Gunn, G
  • Nicklas Haag, ILB
  • Zach Hodges, OLB
  • Tyler Hoover, T
  • Ryan Lankford, WR
  • Jeris Pendleton, DT
  • Ezell Ruffin, WR
  • Justin Shirk, ILB
  • Justin Sinz, TE
  • Abou Toure, RB
  • Brandon Vitabile, C

Waived/injured:

  • Donald Celiscar, CB

Placed on injured reserve:

  • Tevin Mitchel, CB

8:04am: The Colts have parted ways with another offensive lineman from their 2013 free agent class, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who reports (via Twitter) that the club has released veteran guard Donald Thomas. Indianapolis also cut tackle Gosder Cherilus earlier in the offseason.

Thomas, who turns 30 next month, signed a four-year deal with the Colts in 2013 after having made 21 starts in four seasons for the Dolphins and Patriots. However, multiple quad injuries prevented him from seeing the field much in Indianapolis — Thomas played just two regular season contests in 2013 and none in 2014 before starting this year on the team’s physically unable to perform list. The former sixth-round pick was activated from the PUP list last week.

Had the Colts kept Thomas on their roster, he would’ve counted for a cap hit of $3.75MM in 2015, an exorbitant charge for a player who hasn’t seen any significant game action for a couple years. By cutting him, the Colts will reduce his cap numbers to just $250K each for 2015 and 2016. Thomas, meanwhile, will immediately become a free agent, giving him the opportunity to sign with any team.

Colts Sign 15 Undrafted Free Agents

The Colts have announced their undrafted free agent class of 2015, and Kevin Bowen of Colts.com has the details on the 15 players the team added to its roster following the draft. Here are the names of Indianapolis’ new UDFAs:

  • Bryan Bennett, QB, Southeastern Louisiana
  • Quan Bray, WR, Auburn ($5K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Donald Celiscar, CB, Western Michigan
  • Cody Galea, LB, San Diego Stat
  • Terrell Hartsfield, DE, Cincinnati
  • Zach Hodges, LB, Harvard
  • Joshua Mitchell, CB, Nebraska
  • Ezell Ruffin, WR, San Diego State
  • Al-Hajj Shabazz, CB, West Chester
  • Jean Sifrin, TE, Massachusetts
  • Justin Sinz, TE, Purdue
  • Robert Smith, S, Clemson
  • Junior Sylvestre, LB, Toledo
  • Tyler Varga, RB, Yale
  • Brandon Vitabile, C, Northwestern