Minor NFL Transactions: 8/7/17
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Waived/injured: TE Keith Towbridge
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Alton Howard
- Waived: K Andy Phillips
Houston Texans
- Waived: TE Zach Conque
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DT Maurice Swain
- Waived: LB Reshard Cliett
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: TE Mike Estes, WR Cameron Posey
- Waived/injured: TE Asante Cleveland
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived/injured: WR Bradley Marquez
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: DE Arthur Miley
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: TE Jake McGee
- Waived/injured: TE Scott Orndoff
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: T Darrell Brown
- Waived: S Jordan Simone
Washington Redskins
- Signed: S Tim Scott
- Waived: S Josh Evans, S Earl Wolff
- Waived from IR: DB Lou Young
Rams Work Out Tyson Jackson
Former Chiefs and Falcons defensive end Tyson Jackson is working out today for the Rams, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). This marks Jackson’s first known workout of the offseason. 
[RELATED: Dominique Easley Done For Season]
Jackson was cut loose by Atlanta at the start of free agency, terminating his deal with two years and $8.5MM left on his contract. The defensive tackle signed a lucrative five-year, $25MM deal with Atlanta heading into 2014, but he was viewed as a likely cap casualty after weak production last year.
In 2016, Jackson finished out with 13 total tackles and two pass deflections in 16 games (seven starts). The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus rated him as just the No. 67 interior defender in the NFL out of 127 qualified players. His grades for run defense, pass rush, and coverage were all poor in his 389 total snaps.
Still, Jackson offers some promise as a former No. 3 overall pick. And, in the wake of Dominique Easley‘s season-ending knee injury, he could help provide some badly needed depth at nose tackle.
Slow Progress On Aaron Donald Front
- We learned last night that the Rams and Aaron Donald remain on “amicable” terms despite the interior defender’s holdout. Despite the relative optimism, head coach Sean McVay said not much as changed in regards to negotiations. “Not to this point,” McVay said (via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com). “Kind of still same as. Hopeful and waiting for some day when we get that good news, but in the meantime we move on and like we’ve said before – confident that he’s working hard while he’s not here and trust that when we do get that worked out hopefully he’ll be ready to go and there won’t be any setbacks. It’ll be good to get him if we’re able to come to that decision and get that thing done.”
Latest On Aaron Donald's Holdout
There’s no end in sight to the standoff between the Rams and holdout Aaron Donald, but the two sides remain on “amicable” terms, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com. The superstar defensive lineman is under control through the next two seasons at low costs relative to his play and could be a franchise tag candidate in 2019 and ’20, meaning the Rams don’t have any incentive to give him a long-term mega-deal, one NFL agent told Gonzalez. “The Rams should sit back and do nothing. Let him play out this year, let him play out the fifth-year option, and franchise him,” said the agent.
The agent’s point of view makes sense from a financial perspective, but it wouldn’t be acting in good faith, notes Gonzalez, who writes that Donald is worth breaking the bank for and someone who’s clearly a franchise player. While the Rams are aware of the 26-year-old’s greatness, they also realize that they technically don’t have to cave into Donald, which puts them in a tough situation. Ultimately, if a deal does come together, it might not be until closer to September, observes Gonzalez. That’s when the Rams extended wide receiver Tavon Austin, edge rusher Robert Quinn and nose tackle Michael Brockers in past years. In the meantime, they can fine Donald $40K per day as long as he’s absent.
Rams Sign KD Cannon
Los Angeles Rams
Rams Make Three Moves
- The Panthers signed tight end Bryce Williams and waived-injured safety Travelle Dixon. The Panthers are the fourth team for Williams, who has also spent time with the Patriots, Rams and Seahawks since going undrafted out of East Carolina last year. Dixon, undrafted from Washington two years ago, first joined the Panthers in January 2016.
- The Rams signed receivers Justin Thomas and C.J. Germany. They also waived fullback Zach Laskey (Twitter links via Rapoport and Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com).
Tyrunn Walker Cleared By Grand Jury
Former Rams defensive lineman Tyrunn Walker has been cleared of all wrongdoing by a Los Angeles grand jury, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Walker and another man were accused of sexual assault stemming from an incident back in February. 
The Rams released Walker in June when the allegations came to light. Now that the L.A. grand jury has returned “a no true bill,” he may be able to find another NFL job.
The Rams were Walker’s third NFL stop and he’s now be in search of team No. 4. Walker spent the first three seasons of his career with the Saints and the last two with the Lions. All in all, he has totaled 42 appearances with the majority of his 13 career starts (eight) coming in 2016.
The lineman tallied 26 tackles and played in 34.1% of the Lions’ defensive snaps in 2016. He ranked just 77th among Pro Football Focus’ 127 qualified interior defensive linemen.
Although he is in the clear from a legal perspective, the 27-year-old could still conceivably face punishment from the NFL if the league office feels that he violated the personal conduct policy.
Rams’ Dominique Easley Done For Season
Rams defensive lineman Dominique Easley has suffered another a torn ACL, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. He will be out for the 2017 season and placed on injured reserve. 
[RELATED: Rams DT Aaron Donald Does Not Report To Camp]
Easley was carted off the field during practice on Tuesday and a Wednesday morning MRI has confirmed the team’s worst fears. It’s an awful blow for Easley on a personal level as he had seasons cut short in both 2011 and 2013 after suffering torn ACLs. It’s typically challenging to come back from one ACL tear. Returning after three separate ACL tears will be a trying feat for the 25-year-old.
Waived after only two seasons with the Patriots, Easley found a home with the Rams last year. He turned in a strong 2016 as he recorded 3.5 sacks and finished out as the league’s No. 30 interior defender among 125 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. This year, the Rams were planning to give him an increased workload. Now, they’ll have to look elsewhere for reinforcements on the defensive line.
NFC West Notes: 49ers, Hyde, Seahawks
Although the 49ers have several key players, including safety Eric Reid and running back Carlos Hyde, entering their respective contract seasons, it doesn’t as though San Francisco has extension offers lined up for free agents-to-be, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com.
“I would say that we’re always having internal discussions, Kyle (Shanahan) and myself and our staffs,” general manager John Lynch said. “And, we really try to be forward thinking looking out, not just this year but three to five years and saying, ‘OK, let’s look at the construct of our roster.’ But, our priority was let’s provide competition at each and every position. And so, that’s why we were so active this year to go out and to be able to really judge this and judge those guys in particular. There’s going to be a little more urgency with some of them, but we’re going to let this play out a little bit and see how they fit with what we want to do.”
Here’s more from the NFC West:
- The Seahawks gave former Philadelphia first rounder Marcus Smith a one-year, $690K deal with zero guarantees, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The deal carries a maximum value of $1.44MM. Smith hasn’t done much in his three NFL seasons so far, but the Seahawks are hoping to get something out of him as a reserve.
- Lance Dunbar was signed to serve as the backup to running back Todd Gurley, but given that the former Cowboy is on active/PUP and has no timetable to return from injury, Malcolm Brown is taking the lion’s share of work as the Rams‘ No. 2, as Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com writes. Brown, a 2015 undrafted free agent out of Texas, has managed only 22 carries in two pro seasons, but new Los Angeles head coach Sean McVay has been “pleasantly surprised” by Brown’s training camp work, per Gonzalez. The Rams could still look at external options — they’ve talked with free agent Rashad Jennings — but for now, Brown is on track to take over the backup role.
Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.
Rams’ Dominique Easley Suffers Knee Injury
Rams defensive tackle Dominique Easley was carted off the field during practice today and likely suffered a “serious” knee injury, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). He’ll undergo an MRI tonight, tweets Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Despite being one of the more productive collegiate interior pass rushers in recent memory, Easley fell to the bottom of the first round 2014 due to a pair of knee injuries. The Florida product had seasons cut short in both 2011 and 2013 after suffering torn ACLs, so if that’s the diagnosis for Easley this time around, it would mark the third such injury for the 25-year-old.
Waived after only two seasons with the Patriots, Easley has found a home with the Rams. In 2016, Easley was exceptional, as he played 470 defensive snaps while posting 3.5 sacks and grading the league’s No. 30 interior defender among 125 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus. He had been expected to play starter’s snaps during the upcoming season, especially given that he already has experience in a 3-4 scheme, which new Los Angeles defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is installing.
A potential Easley loss is even more debilitating given standout defensive lineman Aaron Donald‘s holdout. Donald, who is seeking a new contract, isn’t attending training camp, and while he may yet report before the regular season gets underway, the Rams could now be without two of their top three interior players for the majority of the preseason.
Easley, who was tendered at the original round level as a restricted free agent, is scheduled to hit the open market in 2018. If he has torn an ACL yet again, Easley’s stock as a free agent will clearly be negatively affected next spring.