Kitt O’Brien

Panthers Set 53-Man Roster

The Panthers have officially set their 53-man roster, and there are few major surprises on the list. One of the most notable names is running back Cameron Artis-Payne, who spent the past four years in Carolina. The team also moved on from fellow offensive veteran Aldrick Robinson, who finished last season with five touchdown receptions for the Vikings.

Otherwise, the other notable names include recent draft picks, like 2018 seventh-round wideout Terry Godwin and 2017 fifth-round cornerback Corn Elder.

The rest of the Panthers’ roster moves are below:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/Injured:

Placed on IR:

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/5/19

We’ve got a bunch of minor moves today, with a handful of players being signed from the recently defunct AAF:

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: G Kitt O’Brien, C Parker Collins (both from AAF)

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: WR Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi

Dallas Cowboys

Miami Dolphins

  • Signed: OL Michael Dunn (AAF)

Minnesota Vikings

Oakland Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: C J.C. Hassenauer, DB Jack Tocho (both from AAF)

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Redskins

  • Signed: DE Andrew Ankrah (AAF)

 

Browns Trim Roster To 65

The Browns have begun reducing their roster count in advance of tomorrow’s 53-man deadline. Cleveland announced the following transactions:

Placed on reserve/PUP:

Released:

Waived:

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/30/17

Here are today’s minor moves:

  • The Panthers have signed safety Damian Parms, per Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). Parms tried out with the team back in May.
  • The Browns signed offensive lineman Kitt O’Brien, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets that Cleveland waived offensive lineman Chris Barker with an injury designation in a corresponding move. O’Brien, 27, spent the 2013-14 campaigns in the Arena Football League after going undrafted out of Ball State. Subsequently, he latched on with the Colts and spent parts of the past two seasons on Indianapolis’ practice squad. O’Brien has yet to appear in an NFL game.
  • The Dolphins will sign WR Jordan Westerkamp today, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). In four years at Nebraska, Westerkamp posted 167 catches for 2,474 yards and 18 touchdowns, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets.
  • The Jets announced that they’ve signed cornerback David Rivers and waived/injured fellow CB Bryson Keeton. Rivers, a Youngstown State product, went undrafted earlier this year and has already been cut by Green Bay.

AFC East Notes: Jets, Whitehead, Dolphins

Here’s a quick look at the AFC East:

  • Before he was claimed by the Jets, other teams that expressed interest in Lucky Whitehead were the Colts, Chiefs, and Saints, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter) hears from one source. The Bears showed a little interest as well. Reading between the lines, it sounds like the Colts, Chiefs, and Saints may have placed waiver claims on Whitehead while the Bears were on the fence about it as Wednesday approached. Of course, after finishing with a 5-11 record last year, the Jets had higher waiver priority than most.
  • The Dolphins worked out free agent offensive lineman Kitt O’Brien on Wednesday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. O’Brien, 27, spent the 2013-14 campaigns in the Arena Football League after going undrafted out of Ball State. Subsequently, he latched on with the Colts, and had spent parts of the past two seasons on Indianapolis’ practice squad. O’Brien has yet to appear in an NFL game.
  • The Bills are leaving no stone unturned in their search for signal-callers, as the club worked out former Fresno State quarterback Marcus McDade on Monday, per Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). McDade, who backed up Derek Carr with the Bulldogs, ultimately transferred to the other side of the planet, joining Samsung Frankfurt University in Germany. His most recent stop was the Indoor Football League, where McDade played for the Spokane Empire.

Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.

NFC Notes: Eagles, Vikes, Cards, Falcons

Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater‘s catastrophic knee injury last summer continues to have a sizable effect on the Eagles, observes Paul Domowitch of Philly.com. In response to Bridgewater’s injury, the Vikings sent a first-rounder (which turned into the 14th pick) to the Eagles, who otherwise wouldn’t have selected until the second this year after they traded up for Carson Wentz last spring. And with Bradford off the roster, Wentz was able to start all 16 games as a rookie. Further, had Bridgewater not gotten hurt and Bradford stayed put, the Eagles might not have had the cap space this offseason to sign wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, writes Domowitch. With an $18MM cap hit, Bradford wouldn’t have had as much much trade value this offseason, and releasing him would have cost Philadelphia $4MM in dead money. “I think it’s safe to say that the Bridgewater injury, while a horrible thing for Teddy, couldn’t have worked out any better for the Eagles,” one general manager told Domowitch.

As for the Vikings, even though they’re not going to pick up Bridgewater’s fifth-year option for 2018, it’s possible he’ll remain under their control that season. If he starts 2017 on the physically unable to perform list and doesn’t come off, his contract will toll for 2018, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

More from the NFC:

  • The 2017 quarterback class is “probably the best group of arms in the last four or five years,” Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians told the Associated Press, adding that “maybe five or six” are capable of starting in the NFL. The Cardinals, whose own starter, Carson Palmer, is entering his age-37 season, are reportedly targeting a signal-caller with the 13th overall pick. But general manager Steve Keim insists they’re “not going to force it” and will opt for a best-player-available approach. On the other hand, it doesn’t seem as if Keim will put off drafting a potential successor to Palmer until 2018. “You can look ahead and say there are two or three that we have watched on tape that are fantastic,” he said. “But if they are picking one, two or three in the draft, and I hope we are not picking anywhere but 32, how are we going to get up there and get them? Even if we had 11 comp picks, that is not going to get it done. I just don’t think you can rely on that. If you have a player you fell in love with (this year), you take them.”
  • Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com reported Tuesday that the Falcons and Seahawks are discussing a trade that would see Atlanta send the 31st pick and a fourth-round choice to Seattle for No. 26. Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff implied Tuesday that he’d be open to such a move (though he wasn’t specifically addressing that rumor), telling the AP: “I think the reality is again the opportunity to potentially move up into the 20s potentially is there. There will be some interesting opportunities, I believe.”
  • Along with the previously reported Tim Barnes, the 49ers tried out cornerback Steve Williams and offensive lineman Kitt O’Brien on Wednesday, tweets Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. A three-year veteran who has appeared in 33 games, Williams spent time with the Chargers and Rams last season. In six games (two starts), he totaled 18 tackles. O’Brien, undrafted in 2013, hasn’t seen any regular-season action. He was on and off the Colts’ practice squad in each of the two previous seasons.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/15/16

Today’s practice squad moves:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed: CB Sam Brown

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: Kitt O’Brien

Colts Cut Stevan Ridley, Others

The Colts are cutting running back Stevan Ridley, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). "<strong

Ridley was signed by the Colts just days ago after he was cut by Detroit. The Colts have spoken at length about their plan to preserve Frank Gore‘s legs by lightening his workload and Ridley figured to be a part of that. Alas, the Colts didn’t see enough from Ridley in the last few days to keep him on the 53-man roster.

After spending his first four years in the NFL with the Patriots, Ridley signed with the Jets last season, but didn’t see the field all that much after coming off the PUP list. With Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell handling the majority of the workload out of the backfield, Ridley took over for Zac Stacy as the No. 3 back and earned just 36 carries, totaling only 90 yards for a career-worst 2.5 yards per attempt. His stint with Indianapolis could represent his best opportunity to reestablish himself as a quality back.

Here’s the running list of the Colts’ cuts so far today (links via Mike Wells of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified):

  • RB Stevan Ridley
  • WR Tevaun Smith (Twitter link via Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star)
  • DE Ronald Thompson
  • DL Sterling Bailey (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
  • DT Kelcy Quarles (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com)
  • ILB Trevor Bates (link)
  • ILB Nate Irving (via Holder)
  • OLB Earl Okine
  • CB Tay-Glover Wright
  • CB Christopher Milton
  • S Alden Darby
  • S Lee Hightower
  • WR MeKale McKay
  • OG Kitt O’Brien
  • OG Adam Redmond
  • OT Mitchell Van Dyk
  • OT Jeremy Vujnovich

The team has also placed offensive guard Hugh Thornton, cornerback Tevin Mitchel and linebacker Ron Thompson on the injured reserve, according to Holder and Alex Marvez of SiriusXM (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has started 32 of his 37 games through his three seasons in the league.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/10/15

Earlier today, we learned that the Ravens had signed running back Terrance West to their practice squad, cutting defensive end Nordly Capi to make room. That’s one of a handful of practice squad changes around the league today, so let’s round up the rest….

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: DT Eric Crume (press release via team)
  • Cut: DT Justin Hamilton

Indianapolis Colts

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

St. Louis Rams

  • Signed: LB Matthew Wells (Twitter link via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/31/15

Here are Saturday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins