Matthew Wells

Falcons Down To 63

The Falcons announced that they have cut a number of players. Between the announced moves plus the additional reports below, they are now down to 63. The team still has many moves to make between now and tomorrow’s 53-man deadline. The full list (so far) is below.

Released:

Waived:

In between previous stints with the Falcons, Harris previously spent three seasons with New Orleans, seeing action in 34 games with four starts.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/24/16

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Browns announced that they have signed outside linebacker Joe Schobert, a fourth-round draft pick. As shown on our running list, third-round defensive end Carl Nassib stands as Cleveland’s only unsigned draft choice from this year’s class of 14 picks. According to Over the Cap, Schobert, a Wisconsin product, is in line for a four-year deal worth roughly $2.974MM, including a signing bonus of about $634K.
  • The Rams have waived wide receiver J.J. Worton, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Tribune (Twitter link). Worton was an undrafted free agent out of UCF, and signed with Los Angeles at the beginning of May. The club has also waived linebacker Matthew Wells, per Jenna Laine of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Wells originally inked a futures deal back in January.

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/5/16

Here are today’s reserve/futures contract signings from around the league. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2016 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ 90-man rosters.

Arizona Cardinals

  • Taylor Boggs, C (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com)
  • Valerian Ume-Ezeoke, C
  • Mike Reilly, OLB
  • Tyrequek Zimmerman, S

Baltimore Ravens

  • Jerod Johnson, QB (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

  • Burton Pierce, OT
  • Ben Heenan, G
  • Edwin Jackson, LB
  • Kitt O’Brien, G
  • Dezmen Southward, DB
  • Joshua Stangby. WR

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

  • Garrett Gilbert, QB (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)
  • Giorgio Tavecchio, K

San Diego Chargers

San Francisco 49ers

  • Corey Acosta, K (link via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle)

St. Louis Rams

Practice Squad Updates: 12/15/15

Here are today’s practice squad signings and cuts from across the league:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: S Craig Bills (Twitter link via team)
  • Cut: CB Mike Lee

St. Louis Rams

  • Signed: LB Matthew Wells

Washington

Practice Squad Updates: 12/1/15

Today’s practice squad updates from around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: LB Brian Blechen (Twitter link via Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer)

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Signed: WR Austin Hill (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

St. Louis Rams

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

Workout Notes: Titans, Brown, Johnson, Dixon

Just over seven months after he announced his retirement from the NFL, cornerback Cortland Finnegan had a workout today with the Patriots. Finnegan, 31, was one of the league’s worst cornerbacks in 2013, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. PFF ranked Finnegan 109th out of 110 qualified corners, with a grade of -19.7 in just seven games. As such, it came as a bit of a surprise when Miami inked the former Ram to a two-year, $11MM deal in 2014. He might not be worthy of that kind of pay, but he could make for an intriguing depth option for the Pats or another team.

Here’s a rundown of today’s other workouts from around the NFL, with all links going to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post on Twitter, unless noted otherwise..

Workout Notes: Bears, Broncos, Packers

Here’s a roundup of today’s auditions from around the NFL. All links go to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle on Twitter), unless noted otherwise..

Bears Set 53-Man Roster

John Fox‘s first roster with the Bears will include three quarterbacks, but the third isn’t the one he oversaw in Denver. The Bears sent Zac Dysert back to waivers after picking up the ex-Broncos quarterback last week.

Instead, David Fales will back up Jay Cutler and Jimmy Clausen, as the Bears made their cuts to slash their roster to 53 players, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.

Also among the cuts was third-year defensive end/linebacker David Bass, who played in 20 games the past two seasons. A former seventh-round pick of the Raiders in 2013 with a pick-six to his credit as a rookie in Chicago, Bass has interested suitors and will land somewhere soon, per Bleacher Report’s Dan Pompei (on Twitter).

Here are the rest of Chicago’s final cuts:

  • Jonathan Anderson, ILB
  • Qumain Black, WR
  • Conor Boffeli, OL
  • A.J. Cruz, WR (Waived/injured)
  • Jacoby Glenn, CB
  • Anthony Jefferson, DB (Injured reserve)
  • Rashad Lawrence, WR
  • Tyler Moore, OL
  • Michael Ola, OL
  • Ify Umodu, WR
  • Gannon Sinclair, TE
  • Matthew Wells, ILB
  • Terry Williams, DT
  • Kyle Woestmann, OLB

Patriots Acquire Ryan Groy From Bears

12:23pm: The Patriots traded linebacker Matthew Wells to Chicago to acquire Groy, a source tells Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Wells was a 2015 sixth-round selection by New England.

11:32am: The Patriots have acquired guard Ryan Groy from the Bears, a source tells Rand Getlin of NFL.com (on Twitter). The exact return is not known at this time, but the Patriots likely didn’t give up much to acquire the offensive lineman.

Groy was a member of the Bears’ practice squad to start the 2014 season but was promoted to the 53-man roster when right tackle Jordan Mills went down with a rib injury. Groy, 25 in September, saw time in four games for Chicago last season, including three starts. He entered the league as a UDFA last offseason after going undrafted out of Wisconsin.

The acquisition of the Wisconsin product marks the Patriots’ second transaction so far on Monday. Earlier today, the Pats cut quarterback Matt Flynn in order to sign Ryan Lindley.