Lee Hightower

Workout Notes: Patriots, Jets, Bills

The Patriots auditioned some players of note this week, including linebacker Akeem Ayers, quarterback Thad Lewis, and wide receiver Jeremy Ross (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com).

Ayers has some history with New England after playing on their 2014 Super Bowl championship team. Last year, Ayers appeared in all 16 games for Indianapolis and recorded two sacks.

Linebackers Nicholas Grigsby and Antwione Williams also showed their stuff for the Pats.

Here’s a look at Wednesday’s other workouts from around the NFL:

Colts Down To 53

The Colts made major news on Saturday when they shipped wide receiver Phillip Dorsett to the Patriots in exchange for quarterback Jacoby Brissett. After that, they had the daunting task of bringing their bloated preseason roster down to the 53-man max in time for the deadline. Here’s the complete rundown.

Waived:

Waived/Injured:

Released:

Placed On IR:

PUP List:

Richardson, who once had a prominent role with the Rams, joined the Colts on Aug. 29 and was viewed as a longshot to make the final cut.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/13/16

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: LB Reshard Cliett

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: OL Blaine Clausell

Cleveland Browns

Indianpolis Colts

  • Signed: T Pierce Burton

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed: DT Justin Zimmer

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: LB Shaquille Riddick

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: OT Mitchell Van Dyk

Tennessee Titans

  • Signed: RB David Fluellen

Washington Redskins

Workout Notes: Pack, Vikes, Chiefs, Giants

In addition to the previously reported Joique Bell, the running back-needy Packers worked out fellow rushers James Wilder Jr. and Brandon Wegher on Tuesday, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Defensive end Arthur Miley and defensive back Brandon Dixon also tried out.

More of the latest workouts (courtesy of Howard Balzer, unless otherwise noted):

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/8/16

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: OL Blake Muir
  • Cut: LB Davis Tull

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed: G Kadeem Edwards
  • Cut: G Clay DeBord

Houston Texans

  • Signed: WR Wendall Williams

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Signed: S Jimmy Hall, CB Tylor Patmon, QB Joel Stave
  • Cut: RB Zac Brooks, OL Jarrod Pughsley, OT Zach Sterup

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Diego Chargers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Cut: WR Kenny Lawler

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

  • Signed: DB Lee Hightower

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/4/16

Here are today’s practice squad moves:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: P Michael Palardy (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com)
  • Cut: LB Davis Tull

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: OL Mike Liedtke (Twitter link via Tessler)

Indianapolis Colts

New York Giants

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

  • Signed: DE James Cowser
  • Cut: DL Demetrius Cherry, LB Darnell Sankey (Twitter link via Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com)

San Diego Chargers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/27/16

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

  • Signed: WR Ed Eagan, C Terran Vaughn
  • Cut: LB Carlos Fields, S Damian Parms

Green Bay Packers

  • Cut: CB Robertson Daniel (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: LB Lynden Trail (Twitter link via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com)

New England Patriots

  • Signed: WR Da’Ron Brown (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)

New York Giants

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

  • Signed: DL Demetrius Cherry (Twitter link via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle)
  • Cut: LB Korey Toomer (Twitter link via Tafur)

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: RB Zac Brooks (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Sheil Kapadia)
  • Cut: WR Antwan Goodley (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times)

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: G Darrell Greene
  • Cut: CB JaCorey Shepherd (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com)

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: DB Jacob Hagen (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/13/16

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

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: RB Blake Sims (link via Matt Zenitz of AL.com)
  • Cut: RB Gus Johnson (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: WR Marquis Bundy (via team announcement)
  • Cut: WR Chris Hubert (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts:

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Cut: WR Shaq Evans (Twitter link via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com)

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Oakland Raiders

  • Signed: OT Takoby Cofield (Twitter link via reps at Precision Sports)
  • Cut: LB Jason Fanaika (Twitter link via Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com)

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

  • Signed: QB Alex Tanney (Twitter link via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com)
  • Cut: OL Ronald Patrick

Washington Redskins

Colts Sign Stephen Morris To Practice Squad

The Colts signed quarterback Stephen Morris to their practice squad and waived safety Lee Hightower, as Mike Chappell of CBS4 tweets. Interestingly, Morris will earn $20K per week – the most of any taxi squad player in the NFL, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets.

Stephen Morris (vertical)

Morris, whom the Colts waived Wednesday, first joined the organization late last season after spending most of the year on the Eagles’ practice squad. He previously went undrafted out of Miami in 2014 before signing with the Jaguars, who cut him prior to last season.

The 6-foot-2, 213-pounder will give the Colts a third option at quarterback behind franchise player Andrew Luck and veteran backup Scott Tolzien. Notably, Luck missed most of last season with injuries and is now dealing with a shoulder ailment, though he’ll be ready for the team’s Week 1 showdown with the Lions.

Hightower, who split his college career between Boise State and Houston, went undrafted this year. He tried out with the Texans before hooking on with the Colts last month.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC South

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC South 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 Texans, Colts, Jaguars, and Titans are noted below.

Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. 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 South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Tennessee Titans