John Kling

Redskins Form Initial Roster

The Redskins moved their roster to 53 players on Saturday by making the following transactions:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on injured reserve:

Placed on PUP:

Placed on NFI:

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/1/18

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:

Baltimore Ravens

  • QB Josh Woodrum
  • RB John Crockett
  • FB Ricky Ortiz
  • OT Steven Moore

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

  • LB Carl Bradford
  • K Jon Brown
  • LB Connor Harris
  • OT Javarius Leamon
  • OG Oni Omoile
  • TE Scott Orndoff
  • CB Sojourn Shelton
  • SS Robenson Therezie
  • WR Kermit Whitfield

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

  • TE Mo Alie-Cox
  • WR Dres Anderson
  • DT Johnathan Calvin
  • WR Kolby Listenbee
  • LB Arthur Miley
  • LB Josh Perry
  • QB Phillip Walker
  • G Isaiah Williams

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

 

Redskins Reach 53-Man Max

The Redskins are now at the 53-man roster maximum. Here’s how they trimmed down:

Released:

Waived:

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/6/17

Here are today’s minor moves.

  • The Jets signed tight end Brian Parker, per a team announcement. This will be Parker’s second stint with the Jets, who initially employed him for two days last year before cutting him because of a failed physical. Parker entered the league in 2015 as a Chargers UDFA addition.
  • The Redskins signed former Bears offensive tackle John Kling, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
  • Swing tackle Chris Hubbard signed his Steelers RFA tender, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). He will make $1.8MM as the Steelers’ presumptive No. 3 tackle in 2017 behind Alejandro Villanueva and Marcus Gilbert. Hubbard will enter his fourth season with the Steelers. He started the first four games of his career last season.
  • Broncos contributors Bennie Fowler and Kabri Bibbs signed their ERFA tenders, Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post tweets. A fourth-year running back, Bibbs will continue to vie for a backfield job after seeing some time last season after C.J. Anderson went down. A third-year wide receiver, Fowler resides in the glut of auxiliary pass-catchers that sits beneath Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders in Denver’s aerial hierarchy.

East Notes: Redskins, Dolphins, Jets, Giants

The Redskins have lost $4.5MM in cap space after paying back a “salary cap loan” from the 2011 campaign, as Rich Tandler of CSNMidAtlantic.com explains. Once the lockout concluded in 2011, the league-wide salary cap was set at $120MM per team, a $3MM decrease from the previous capped year. Because of the discrepancy, the NFL allowed clubs to borrow cap space: up to $3MM in 2011, and up to $1.5MM in 2012. Both amounts had to be repaid by 2017, so the bill has now come due for Washington.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two East divisions:

  • The Dolphins are continuing their search for front seven players by researching draft prospects, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Oklahoma defensive tackle Charles Walker has been invited for a meeting with the Fins, per Jackson, while the club is also showing interest in Temple linebacker Haason Reddick and Villanova defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon. Meanwhile, Miami worked out cornerback John Ojo — who spent 2016 with the Edmonton Eskimoes of the Canadian Footbball League — on Monday, but he’s expected to sign with another team, according to Jackson.
  • Ohio State safety Malik Hooker will visit with the Jets on Thursday, as Hooker tells SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link). Hooker, considered one of the draft’s top two safeties along with Jamal Adams (LSU), will likely be selected within the top 10 picks later this month. In New York, a Hooker addition could possibly lead to the release of veteran defender Marcus Gilchrist.
  • After indicating he was stepping away from the NFL on Monday, Giants defensive end Owa Odighizuwa tweeted Tuesday that he’s “grateful to be part of Big Blue,” but New York sources (and a few Giants teammates) aren’t sure what is going on with the 25-year-old defender, per Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. While some observers believe Odighizuwa is dealing with “personal” problems, the entire nature of his tweets is still unclear.
  • The Redskins are working out offensive tackle John Kling, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. King signed with Chicago last summer after being undrafted out of Buffalo, but was waived during final cutdowns and never latched on with another team.

Bears Cut 10, Including FB Darrel Young

The Bears have trimmed their roster to 80 by cutting 10 players, the club announced today. Chicago will need need to waive or release five more players before Tuesday’s cutdown deadline.

The Bears cut the following 10 players:

Young, 29, is the most experienced of the bunch, as he’s appeared in 90 games during his six-year career (all with the Redskins). Young was just signed earlier this month, but it appears that 2015 UDFA Paul Lasike has won Chicago’s fullback job.

Bears Add Eight UDFAs

The Bears have submitted eight undrafted free agent signings to the NFL office, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Here’s the list:

  • TE Ben Braunecker (Harvard)
  • OL Dan Buchholz (Duquesne)
  • CB Taveze Calhoun (Mississippi State)
  • LB Don Cherry (Villanova)
  • LB Roy Robertson-Harris (UTEP)
  • WR/KR Derek Keaton (Georgia Southern) [$3k signing bonus, Biggs tweets]
  • OL John Kling (Buffalo)
  • TE Joe Sommers (Wisconsin-Oshkosh) [$7,521 signing bonus, tweets Biggs]

AFC Rumors: Ravens, Bosa, Brady, Steelers

The Ravens are prioritizing pass rushers, including Ohio State’s Joey Bosa, with the sixth overall pick, an industry source tells Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. With no clear answers for how the draft will play out beyond the top two picks, it’s not clear which players will be available when Baltimore prepares to make its selection. It’s possible that Bosa and Oregon’s DeForest Buckner will both still be on the board at No. 6, but there’s also a chance that both players could be gone by then.

Of course, while Baltimore likes Bosa, Buckner may not even be an option for the club. According to Hensley, if Bosa is picked in the top five, the Ravens favor taking a player like Clemson’s Shaq Lawson or Georgia’s Leonard Floyd. Bosa, Lawson, and Floyd all project as potential outside linebackers for 3-4 teams, whereas Buckner would likely be a defensive end in a 3-4 scheme.

Here’s more from around the AFC:

  • In theory, the NFLPA and the NFL could reach a settlement to resolve the Tom Brady/Deflategate situation at any time, but in reality, such an agreement remains very unlikely, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. As Florio observes, the league has most of the leverage now, and hasn’t shown any willingness in the past to settle. With the Patriots‘ starting quarterback once again facing a four-game suspension, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com explores some ways the team could add depth at the QB position.
  • In a pair of Steelers-related pieces, Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review discusses Jarvis Jones‘ long-term future – or possible lack thereof – in Pittsburgh, while Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette examines the team’s history of avoiding cornerbacks in the first round.
  • Garrett Graham‘s one-year deal with the Broncos is for the veteran’s minimum and includes an $80K signing bonus, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. It’s a split contract for the veteran tight end.
  • The Jets are expressing interest in Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton as a priority undrafted free agent, says Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
  • Buffalo offensive tackle John Kling has received interest from the Jaguars, according to Wilson, who tweets that Jacksonville could be a landing spot for Kling.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

NFC Notes: Bucs, Draft, Vikings, Washington

Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter likes his group of receivers but he says that he could also add to that group in the draft, as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times writes.

I feel fine about our receiving corps. Obviously, at the top with [Vincent Jackson] and [Mike Evans],” Koetter said. “I’m not a believer that Vincent Jackson is anywhere close to being done. I think both of his injuries were extremely freakish last year. He happened to take a helmet right on the knee in both instances. Vincent is a fast healer. I think Mike is going to have a rebound year if we can call 1,200 yards a bad season.”

Beyond Evans and Jackson, Koetter has young wide receivers Adam Humphries, Donteea Dye, Evan Spencer, and Kenny Bell plus veterans Louis Murphy and Russell Shepard. Koetter isn’t ruling out adding to that group in the draft, but it’d be a shocker of Tampa Bay went receiver at No. 9 overall.

Here’s a look at the NFC:

  • Coach Mike Zimmer doesn’t believe that the Vikings have to add a veteran wide receiver before next season, ESPN.com’s Ben Goessling writes. “We had a receiver here that was making a lot of money that really didn’t do what we needed to do,” Zimmer said. “So I don’t know that it’s a necessity to go out and sign another wide receiver. We’ve got to get better with the guys we’ve got, and we’ve got to fix other areas that can allow these receivers to be more effective in the games.”
  • Washington coach Jay Gruden says he’s “very concerned” about the team’s safety depth, as John Keim of ESPN.com writes. Duke Inenacho and David Bruton are competing for a starting job at strong safety but both players are coming off injuries. Banking on Ihenacho is especially risky as he has missed most of the past two seasons with injuries.
  • The 49ers worked out Buffalo offensive tackle John Kling, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). As previously reporters, the 6-foot-7, 315-pound lineman has also auditioned for the Chargers.

Draft Rumors: Wentz, 49ers, Chargers, Titans

Here’s the latest on the incoming prospect pool and the interested teams.

  • Hue Jackson will attend Carson Wentz‘s pro day Thursday but won’t trek to Memphis to observe Paxton Lynch‘s due to the Browns being in “training mode” by the time Lynch throws for scouts April 6, according to ESPNCleveland.com’s Tony Grossi (on Twitter).
  • The 49ers have used some of their 30 permitted visits on several top prospects, including cornerbacks Eli Apple and Mackensie Alexander, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reports. Ole Miss first-round prospects Laquon Treadwell and Robert Nkemdiche are also among players the 49ers, who hold the No. 7 pick, has met with or plans to.
  • Toledo wide receiver Alonzo Russell will work out for the Cowboys after previously meeting with the Packers, Aaron Wilson of National Football Post reports. Russell totaled 13 touchdowns and more than 1,300 receiving yards during his junior and senior seasons.
  • Ex-Alabama cornerback/kick returner Cyrus Jones has a full itinerary, with visits with the Ravens, Eagles, Bills and Saints lined up, Wilson reports (on Twitter). Jones also has private workouts with the Buccaneers and Panthers scheduled, per Wilson.
  • Mississippi State tight end Darrion Hutcherson will visit the Chargers, per Wilson. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Hutcherson played in 26 games for the Bulldogs, logging just six starts.
  • The Chargers are also set to meet with former Buffalo tackle John Kling, Wilson tweets. The 6-foot-7, 315-pound Bulls lineman played right and left tackle in his five years at the university.
  • The Titans plan to host Ohio State safety Vonn Bell on a workout, Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com tweets. The 5-11, 205-pound early-entry safety made six interceptions as a sophomore in 2014 after joining the Buckeyes in 2013 as a five-star recruit.
  • Former Minnesota linebacker De’Vondre Campbell will visit the nearby professional franchise, with the Vikings summit on April 5-6, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. A fifth-year senior, Campbell recorded 92 tackles for the Gophers while also registering a team-high four sacks last season.
  • The Colts are hosting former Arkansas linebacker Myke Tavarres, who transferred to Incarnate Word, on an April 7 visit, Wilson tweets.
  • The Buccaneers are set to host North Carolina Central defensive back Ryan Smith on a visit, Wilson reports (on Twitter).