Donte Moncrief

Texans Work Out WR Donte Moncrief

The Texans’ offense was rolling on Sunday, but the team is considering additions to their receivers corps. The Texans worked out veteran wideout Donte Moncrief today, reports Aaron Wilson (via Twitter).

Moncrief had one of the best seasons of his career in 2018, hauling in 48 catches for 668 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games (14 starts) for the Jaguars. Since that time, he’s only gotten into 14 games while collecting only 37 yards from scrimmage. This included a 2020 season with the Patriots where the wideout finished with only one catch in six games.

The 28-year-old wideout joined the Texans earlier this offseason but was cut by the team in July. Moncrief would still be hard pressed to make the roster, as the team is rostering six wideouts in Brandin Cooks, Chris Conley, Anthony Miller, Nico Collins, Danny Amendola, and Andre Roberts.

Moncrief wasn’t the only player to audition for the Texans. Per Wilson, the team also worked out safety Grayland Arnold, guard Jake Eldrenkamp, linebacker Sharif Finch, defensive end Josh Mauro, and defensive end Jason Strowbridge.

Texans Release WR Donte Moncrief

With the Texans set to begin camp tomorrow, the team is already making some roster changes. The team released wideout Donte Moncrief with a non-football injury designation, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter).

Moncrief spent the first four seasons of his career with the Colts, including a 2015 campaign where he hauled in a career-high 733 yards. Since leaving for the Jaguars in 2018, the veteran has spent time with five different organizations (including Houston).

He joined the Jets right before the start of the 2020 season, but he was released in October without having appeared in a game with the team. He ended up getting picked up by the Patriots, and he proceeded to appear in six games for New England, compiling 19 yards from scrimmage.

Moncrief was signed by the Texans back in March, and it was believed he’d add another veteran presence to the receivers room. However, even with the impending trade of Randall Cobb, Moncrief may have found himself squeezed off the roster by recent acquisition Anthony Miller. The team is also rostering the likes of Brandin Cooks, Keke Coutee, Isaiah Coulter, Andre Roberts, and rookie Nico Collins.

Texans To Sign WRs Donte Moncrief, Alex Erickson

Donte Moncrief is joining the Texans. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero reports (via Twitter) that the free agent wideout is signing a one-year deal with Houston.

Moncrief spent the first four seasons of his career with the Colts, including a 2015 campaign where he hauled in a career-high 733 yards. Since leaving for the Jaguars in 2018, the veteran has spent time with five different organizations.

He joined the Jets right before the start of the 2020 season, but he was released in October without having appeared in a game with the team. He ended up getting picked up by the Patriots, and he proceeded to appear in six games for New England, compiling 19 yards from scrimmage.

While there’s uncertainty surrounding who will be under center for the Texans, the team could have a similar grouping of receivers in 2021. Other than Will Fuller, the Texans are likely to return Brandin Cooks, Randall Cobb and Keke Coutee.

Moncrief isn’t the only wideout who’s joining the Texans on a one-year deal. Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston reports (via Twitter) that the team is also signing Alex Erickson. The 28-year-old had spent his entire career with the Bengals, including a 2020 campaign where he had 12 receptions for 139 yards. Erickson also has extensive experience as a return man, having returned 135 punts and 108 kickoffs.

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/5/20

Here are Saturday’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/21/20

Here is Saturday’s usual flood of minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Washington Football Team

Patriots To Sign Donte Moncrief

The Patriots have signed wide receiver Donte Moncrief to the practice squad, per a club announcement. This was the expected move after the former third-rounder auditioned for the Pats earlier this week. 

[RELATED: Patriots Trade For Dolphins’ Ford]

Moncrief was recently released off the Jets’ practice squad, despite their own glaring need for offensive help. That wasn’t promising for Moncrief’s prospects, but the talent is still mostly there.

Moncrief first made his name with the Colts, playing as a featured regular in Andrew Luck‘s offense. The veteran totaled 13 touchdown receptions between the 2015-16 seasons for Indy and set a career-high in ’15 with 733 receiving yards. Since then, things have been a bit rocky — he appeared a grand total of eight games for the Panthers and Steelers in 2019, yielding four catches for 18 yards.

Now, the 27-year-old will await his next opportunity while showing his stuff on the practice field. Thanks to Tuesday’s trade for Dolphins receiver Isaiah Ford, he won’t be the only newcomer to the group.

Patriots Notes: Gilmore, Newton, Edelman

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is usually tight-lipped when it comes to, well, just about everything, but he was quite candid in discussing his team’s struggles this season. The 2-4 Pats are in the midst of their first three-game losing streak since 2002, and Belichick suggested that one of his club’s goals in 2020 was to get right with the salary cap after years of heavy investments.

“This is kind of the year that we’ve taken to, I would say, adjust our cap from the spending that we’ve had in accumulation of prior years,” Belichick said (via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com). “We just haven’t been able to have the kind of depth on our roster that we’ve had in some other years.”

In addition to their league-leading eight COVID-19 opt-outs, the Pats are carrying about $26MM of dead cap charges this season, and as Reiss indicated back in March, the club’s financial picture in 2021 is much brighter. New England may be taking its lumps in 2020, but it is still lurking in the AFC East and is eyeing a major rebound next year.

Now for more out of Foxborough:

  • Stephon Gilmore‘s name has come up in trade rumors, but Reiss says the Pats are not actively shopping their star corner, which is consistent with what we heard several days ago. However, the ESPN scribe suggests that Belichick could be willing to listen if a rival club were to offer a first- or second-round draft choice. Assuming that does not happen, then Gilmore is likely to finish out the season with New England. The two sides would need to address his contract situation at that point, as Gilmore is under club control through 2021 and will be seeking a healthy extension.
  • As of this writing, the Patriots have not done much to suggest that they will be sellers at this week’s trade deadline, but if they fall to the division-rival Bills today, that could change, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com confirms.
  • QB Cam Newton was benched in a blowout loss to the 49ers last week, and though the time he missed due to COVID-19 certainly could explain his recent struggles, the Pats are still alarmed by the number of mistakes he’s making, per Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (video link). While Newton’s job is not in imminent danger, he could lose the starting gig if he does not turn it around soon.
  • New England’s WR depth chart, which is already quite thin, took another hit when Julian Edelman was placed on IR with a knee injury. Belichick said he expects the veteran pass catcher to be back this season, but several people close to Edelman have their doubts, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link). Edelman’s knee has been bothering him for awhile, and although his recent surgery helped alleviate some discomfort, the knee is still bone-on-bone. The Pats could save $4MM against the cap by moving on from the 34-year-old at season’s end, and one wonders if he might have played his last game for New England.
  • In an effort to bolster their WR group, the Pats plan to have veteran wideout Donte Moncrief come in for a workout, per Reiss (via Twitter). The former third-rounder has generally struggled to live up to expectations in his career, and he was recently released off the Jets’ practice squad. Given Gang Green’s own receiver issues, that’s not a good sign, but Moncrief is only 27 and still possesses plenty of physical tools.
  • In addition to Moncrief, the Pats are also bringing in fellow WR Darius Jennings and DT Ryan Glasgow, according to Reiss. Albert Breer of SI.com says the team recently hosted FB Roosevelt Nix (Twitter link).

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/7/20

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:

Arizona Cardinals

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: LB Jonas Griffith

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks