Chiefs Place Paul Fanaika On IR
The Chiefs’ offensive line depth took a hit today, as the team announced (via Twitter) it has placed veteran guard Paul Fanaika on the injured reserve list. To replace Fanaika on the roster, the club re-signed linebacker Dezman Moses.
Fanaika, 29, emerged as a starter in Arizona in 2013, and ultimately started 30 games at right guard for the Cardinals over the last two seasons. After signing with the Chiefs back in March, Fanaika earned a spot on the 53-man roster as a reserve offensive lineman, and likely would’ve been relied upon at guard or tackle if he was needed.
Instead, he’ll spend the year on injured reserve, or at least will remain on IR until he and Kansas City reach an injury settlement. The nature and severity of Fanaika’s injury isn’t yet known.
As for Moses, he returns to the Chiefs after spending the 2014 season on injured reserve. He was a special teams contributor for the club in 2013, playing just 59 defensive snaps that year.
AFC Practice Squad Updates: 9/7/15
While many teams filled up their 10-man practice squads on Sunday, plenty of teams didn’t confirm their moves right away, or kept a few spots open on those units. On top of that, at least one club that signed 10 players to its taxi squad on Sunday has already made several changes, bringing in new players and jettisoning players who didn’t even spend 24 hours on the squad.
We’ll have updates on Monday’s AFC practice squad signings and cuts in this space, with teams listed in alphabetical order. When new moves occur, we’ll bump this post back to the top of the page. Here’s a round-up of today’s moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed (press release):
- WR Daniel Brown
- TE Dominique Jones
- WR Jeremy Ross
Buffalo Bills
- Signed (press release):
- OLB IK Enemkpali
- T Chris Martin
- DE Cedric Reed
- QB Alex Tanney
Cleveland Browns
- Signed (press release):
- OL Garth Gerhart
- DL Dylan Wynn
Denver Broncos
- Signed (press release):
- RB Kapri Bibbs
- TE Arthur Lynch
- T Kyle Roberts
- DE George Uko
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed:
- DL Toby Johnson (Twitter link via Ryan O’Halloran)
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed (press release):
- DT Hebron Fangupo
- T Laurence Gibson
- CB Jeremy Harris
- DL David Irving
- TE Ross Travis
- FB Spencer Ware
Miami Dolphins
- Signed (Twitter link):
- RB Rajion Neal
- WR Uzoma Nwachukwu
New England Patriots
- Signed (Twitter links):
- OL Chris Barker
- T Blaine Clausell
- OL Cameron Fleming (Twitter link via Jeff Howe)
- LB Darius Fleming
- LB Brandon King
- WR Nathan Palmer
- DB Daxton Swanson
- DT Jimmy Staten
- Signed and subsequently released:
- LB Xzavier Dickson (Twitter link via Jeff Howe)
New York Jets
- To be signed:
- S Rontez Miles (Twitter link via Brian Costello)
Oakland Raiders
- Signed:
- George Atkinson III, RB
- Mitch Bell, G
- SaQwan Edwards, CB
- Shelby Harris, DE
- Dan Kistler, T
- Tevin McDonald, S
- Josh Shirley, LB
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed (Twitter link via Burt Lauten + team transactions page):
- WR Isaiah Burse
- LB Anthony Chickillo
- T Matt Feiler
- CB Doran Grant
- TE Xavier Grimble
- OL Barrett Jones
- RB Fitzgerald Toussaint
- Released:
- RB Dominique Brown
- OL Reese Dismukes
- LB Shayon Green
- DE Ethan Hemer
- OL Antonio Johnson
- TE Harold Spears
- WR Jarrod West
San Diego Chargers
- Signed:
- OL Michael Ola (link via Michael Gehlken)
Tennessee Titans
- Signed:
- LB Justin Staples (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson)
Chiefs Sign Jah Reid, Cut Josh Martin
MONDAY, 3:46pm: The Chiefs have confirmed the signing of Reid, announcing that they’ve cut linebacker Josh Martin in the corresponding roster move.
SUNDAY, 6:55pm: The Chiefs have made a move to bolster their offensive line depth, as they’ve agreed to sign offensive lineman Jah Reid, a source tells Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (Twitter link). Reid was cut by the Ravens yesterday, but since he wasn’t a vested veteran, he had to pass through waivers before finding a new home.
The 27-year-old Reid was selected by Baltimore in the third round of the 2011 draft, but despite his draft pedigree, he never became a full-time starter along the Ravens’ offensive line. In his four seasons with the club, he started only seven contests, all of which came during the 2012 season. Last season, Reid appeared in only four games, seeing time on just 10 offensive snaps.
Reid is capable of playing tackle and guard, so he’ll act as a depth piece behind Donald Stephenson, Ben Grubbs, Eric Fisher, and others in Kansas City. The Chiefs will have to make a corresponding move to clear a roster spot for Reid.
Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC West
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC West teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, and Chargers are noted below.
Additionally, as of 11:00am today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s AFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
Denver Broncos
- Claimed off waivers:
- C James Ferentz (via press release)
- TE Mitchell Henry (via press release)
- Cut:
- Signed to practice squad:
- LB Zaire Anderson (press release)
- C Dillon Day (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson)
- TE Arthur Lynch (Twitter link via Tony Pauline)
- LB Danny Mason (press release)
- CB Taurean Nixon (press release)
- DL Chuka Ndulue (press release)
- WR Jordan Taylor (press release)
- DT George Uko (Twitter link via Wilson)
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed:
- OL Jah Reid (link)
- Claimed off waivers:
- TE Brian Parker (Twitter link via Wilson)
- Cut:
- WR Dezman Moses (Twitter link via Terez Paylor)
- Signed to practice squad:
- WR Da’Ron Brown (Twitter link via Wilson)
- OL Daniel Munyer (Twitter link via Paylor)
- T Jarrod Pughsley (link via Paylor)
- WR Fred Williams (link via Paylor)
Oakland Raiders
- Claimed off waivers:
- S Keenan Lambert (Twitter link via Vic Tafur)
- Cut:
- CB SaQwan Edwards (Twitter link via Bill Williamson)
- Signed to practice squad:
- QB Garrett Gilbert (Twitter link via Wilson)
- S Tevin McDonald (link via Scott Bair)
- DT Leon Orr (link via Bair)
- DE Max Valles (Twitter link via Bair)
San Diego Chargers
- Signed to practice squad (press release):
- TE Alex Bayer (Twitter link via Jim Thomas)
- CB Greg Ducre
- WR Javontee Herndon
- G Michael Huey
- LB Ryan Mueller
- S Adrian Phillips
- QB Brad Sorensen (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken)
- RB Dreamius Smith
- DT Damion Square
Chiefs Deal Kelcie McCray To Seahawks, Set Roster
The Chiefs announced 22 roster moves today, and one of them was of particular interest — according to a team release, the club sent safety Kelcie McCray to the Seahawks in a trade for an undisclosed draft pick. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com fills in the details, tweeting that Kansas City gets a fifth-rounder in the deal.
Recent reports had suggested that Seattle was seeking depth at its safety position, with Kam Chancellor still holding out and Earl Thomas returning from a serious injury. In McCray, the Seahawks get a solid backup who primarily served as a special-teamer last season for the Chiefs.
Here are Kansas City’s 21 other moves that get the tea down from a 75-man roster to just 53 players:
Cut:
- WR Da’Ron Brown
- DE Mike Catapano
- S Sanders Commings
- LB Ja’Gared Davis
- DT Hebron Fangupo
- C Garrett Frye
- DL David Irving
- LB James-Michael Johnson
- C Eric Kush
- WR Donatella Luckett
- C Daniel Munyer
- DB Deji Olatoye
- G Jarrod Pughsley
- RB Darrin Reaves
- DB Kevin Short
- T Derek Sherrod
- TE Ryan Taylor
- FB Spencer Ware
- WR Fred Williams
Placed on injured reserve:
- TE Richard Gordon
Reserve/suspended:
- CB Sean Smith
Chiefs Extend Tyler Bray Through 2017
Quarterback Tyler Bray underwent surgery on a torn ACL back in January, and will open the 2015 season on the Chiefs’ reserve/non-football injury list, but as GM John Dorsey said at February’s draft combine, Bray remains in the team’s plans. According to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter links), Kansas City has signed Bray to a two-year extension, keeping him under team control through the 2017 season.
Bray, 23, tore his ACL playing basketball, which is why he landed on the NFI list, rather than injured reserve. When a player suffers a non-football injury, a team can elect to withhold his salary, but the Chiefs will pay Bray the full $510K he’s owed for 2015, as part of the extension agreement, according to Yates.
While the Chiefs made a concession on this year’s salary, they’ll get a good bargain on the two new years of Bray’s contract. Per Yates, those two years have a base value of just $1.925MM, with no guaranteed money.
The fact that Bray’s 2016 and 2017 seasons feature no guarantees means his roster spot in Kansas City is far from safe. But if the Chiefs like what they see from the former UDFA as he recovers from his ACL tear, the team could consider promoting him to the No. 2 role next season, with Chase Daniel‘s contract set to expire in March.
Chiefs Waive Junior Hemingway, Tavon Rooks
The Chiefs have waived Junior Hemingway and Tavon Rooks as a part of their effort to get down to a 75-man roster, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets. KC also placed Justin March on IR and Tyler Bray on the NFI list.
Hemingway, a wide receiver, was selected by the Chiefs in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Over the last two seasons, he has hauled in a combined 25 catches for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Rooks, a sixth-round pick in the 2012 draft, offers great size for the tackle position at 6’5″, 280 pounds.
Washington Notes: RGIII, Williams, Roberts
While Washington’s decision to name Kirk Cousins as the team’s starting quarterback for the 2015 season has been viewed as a signal that Robert Griffin III‘s time in D.C. is coming to an end, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk makes the case for why it makes some sense for the club to keep him on the roster. As Florio writes, Cousins and Colt McCoy aren’t exactly the safest QB duo in the league, and RGIII’s salary isn’t exorbitant for a backup.
Still, as Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports observes, the RGIII era in Washington seems likely to come to an end by next February, with the club likely cutting him in the new year or sooner. Here’s more on the former No. 2 overall pick, along with a couple more Washington-related notes:
- Robinson and Peter King of TheMMQB.com both look ahead and attempt to identify an ideal landing spot for Griffin after he and Washington officially go their separate ways. In Robinson’s view, the Chiefs are the best fit for RGIII, while King cites the Seahawks and Cardinals as logical potential suitors.
- Although most observers don’t believe Washington would be able to trade Griffin, it may be possible if the quarterback is willing to renegotiate his 2016 option year to remove the injury-only guarantee, writes former agent Joel Corry of CBSSports.com. Of course, as Corry acknowledges, Washington still wouldn’t be able to get much in return for the 25-year-old.
- $30MM of Trent Williams‘ five-year, $66MM contract extension with Washington is fully guaranteed at signing, according to Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (all Twitter links). Corry adds that the team, having used a signing/option bonus structure on the deal, will pick up $3.55MM in cap room for the 2015 season.
- In his latest mailbag for the Washington Post, Mike Jones fields questions about Washington’s outside linebackers, Andre Roberts‘ role, and – of course – the quarterback situation.
Chiefs Cut 11 Players
We learned yesterday that the Chiefs had cut guard Marcus Reed, tight end Adam Schiltz, and cornerback Kenneth Penny. Adam Teicher of ESPN.com tweets that the team has also cut the following eight players, bringing their roster down to 79. Kansas City must be down to 75 players by Tuesday afternoon:
- WR Kenny Cook
- T Anthony Dima
- LS Andrew East
- CB Aaron Hester
- DE Vaughn Martin
- WR Jeret Smith
- OL Charles Tuaau
- WR L’Damian Washington
As Teicher adds in a separate tweet, East’s release indicates that the team has settled (for now, at least) on James Winchester as its long snapper. Winchester has never served as a long snapper in a regular season game.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/29/15
Here are today’s minor NFL transactions as cuts aiming to trim rosters from 90 to 75 players have begun to commence.
- The Chiefs have released three players, Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star reports: guard Marcus Reed, tight end Adam Schiltz and cornerback Kenneth Penny (Twitter links).
- The Raiders waived 2014 seventh-round pick Jonathan Dowling, reports Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. The ex-Western Kentucky safety lined up with the team’s second-stringers and was expected to play a bigger role this season after serving as mostly a special-teamer as a rookie. But Oakland’s signing of Taylor Mays seems to have made Dowling expendable.
- The Jaguars cut Cody Booth, who served as a tackle and guard as a rookie last season, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The 25-year-old Booth also played tight end at Temple. He did not see any game action for the Jags last year.
- Eighty-seven players remain on the Cardinals‘ roster after they released safety Ross Weaver, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic reports (on Twitter). Weaver, a 28-year-old former undrafted free agent, previously played on the Giants and Lions before signing with the Cardinals prior to the 2014 season.