Jack Lynn

NFL Workout Updates: 11/29/17

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Redskins

Falcons Cut 14 Players

The Falcons are letting some players walk early as they get ready for the 53-man deadline on Saturday. The team announced the following cuts:

Taylor, a former sixth-round pick, is the son of Fred Taylor, the greatest running back in Jaguars franchise history. The Falcons picked him up in August after he was discarded by the Chiefs.

The Falcons will only carry two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets, so it appears that Matt Simms will follow Torgersen out the door at some point.

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/5/17

Here are today’s minor moves.

  • The Patriots signed cornerback William Likely and waived defensive end Corey Vereen with an injury designation. A 5-foot-7, 175-pound player, Likely could factor into New England’s return-men competition, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. The rookie UDFA played four years at Maryland and notched six interceptions as a sophomore in 2014.
  • Former Minnesota Golden Gophers linebacker Jack Lynn signed with the Falcons, who waived fullback Soma Vainuku to make room, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports. He’s a UDFA rookie. Vanaiku’s ouster should pit Derrick Coleman and rookie Tyler Renew against one another at fullback, per McClure.
  • The Broncos waived rookie UDFA tackle Erik Austell, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post tweets. A Charleston Southern product, Austell was one of the 13 UDFAs the Broncos signed coming out of draft weekend.
  • The Chiefs added former Texans wideout Tevin Jones, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Jones entered the league as a UDFA out of Memphis last year. He hasn’t seen any game action. The Texans signed Jones to a reserve/futures deal in January but cut him last month.
  • The Saints signed wide receiver Dan Arnold and cut defensive end Drew Iddings, Nick Underhill of The Advocate reports (on Twitter). Arnold comes to New Orleans from Division III Wisconsin-Platteville. Iddings spent time in camp with the Raiders last year and was with both the Panthers and Saints this spring.
  • Swapping out interior offensive linemen, the Titans signed center Marc Spelman and waived center/guard Karim Barton. The latter has bounced around for a few years, being signed to reserve/futures deals by the Browns (2015), Texans (’16) and Titans (’17). The 25-year-old has never played in a game. Spelman comes out of Illinois State. He went to the Bears’ rookie minicamp last month.

NFC Notes: Morris, Packers, Lions, Bradberry

Alfred Morris only played 112 snaps during his first season with the Cowboys, and Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com writes that the veteran running back’s future with the organization “remains murky.”

According to the writer, the Cowboys believe Morris has more success when he has more carries, but that isn’t a possibility in Dallas. Ezekiel Elliott should see even more responsibility in his second NFL season, and the team also re-signed veteran Darren McFadden this offseason.

Despite the uncertainty, running backs coach Gary Brown said the 28-year-old continues to keep his head high.

“Straight pro,” he said. “Doesn’t talk about it. Doesn’t mention it. Comes out has fun with it. Enjoys being around his teammates. That’s the kind of guys you need.”

As Williams points out, Morris is set to make $1.2MM next season and count for $2.14MM against the cap. While that would seemingly make him expendable, Brown said he’d love to keep all of his players.

“You just don’t know from year to year what’s going to happen, so you try to keep as many great players around as you can and then the business takes over after that,” Brown said. “Obviously, we would like everybody to stay, but that’s not realistic. We’ve got to make sure we’re training everybody, and we’re covering all our bases, and let whatever happens happen.”

Let’s take a look at some other notes from around the NFC…

  • Packers running back Jamaal Williams‘ four-year rookie contract includes a $565,992 signing bonus, and ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky notes that that’s the only guaranteed money in the deal. The fourth-rounder’s contract could be worth up to $2.96MM, and Williams is set to earn a base salary of $465K in 2017.
  • If he isn’t looking for a lucrative contract, then ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein believes free agent wideout Jeremy Maclin would be a logical fit for the Lions. The hypothetical acquisition would allow the team to roll a versatile three-wideout set that could include any combination of Marvin Jones, Golden Tate, and/or tight end Eric Ebron. Rothstein also points to the relative experience among the team’s other wide receivers.
  • Panthers cornerback James Bradberry fractured his left wrist today and will be in a cast for the next six weeks, reports Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). Head athletic trainer Ryan Vermillion told Max Henson of Panthers.com that the defensive back could still participate in next week’s minicamp, and he’s expected to be fully recovered in time for training camp. The 2016 second-round pick started 13 games for the Panthers last season, compiling 59 tackles and two interceptions.
  • Former Minnesota Gophers linebacker Jack Lynn is “close” to signing with the Falcons, reports Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (via Twitter). The four-year player finished his collegiate career with 77 tackles and 0.5 sacks in 13 games.