HEADLINES

McLeod Bethel-Thompson

Vikings Place Cassel, Fusco On IR

September 24th, 2014 at 8:26am CST by Luke Adams

Quarterback Matt Cassel and guard Brandon Fusco both received new deals from the Vikings this offseason, with Cassel inking a two-year pact to avoid free agency while Fusco agreed to a four-year extension. However, just three weeks into the 2014 season, both players are done for the year. The team announced today in a press release that it has placed Cassel and Fusco on season-ending injured reserve.

Taking Cassel’s and Fusco’s spots on the roster are a pair of practice squad players, in tight end Chase Ford and offensive lineman Austin Wentworth. Their promotions opened up two new spots on the practice squad, which have been filled by quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson and tight end Ryan Otten.

Cassel, who suffered a broken foot in the Vikings’ Week 3 loss to the Saints, will be replaced under center by rookie Teddy Bridgewater, while Christian Ponder transitions from the league’s most notable No. 3 signal-caller to Bridgewater’s backup. Although Cassel is under contract for two years, it’s extremely difficult to imagine him returning to a starting role in Minnesota at any point, unless Bridgewater struggles mightily during his rookie year. With Ponder facing free agency in 2015, perhaps the club decides to bring Cassel back as its No. 2 option in 2015, but given his $4.15MM base salary, he may have played his last game in Minnesota.

The Vikings have yet to use their IR spot with the designation to return, so the fact that neither Cassel nor Fusco – who sustained a shoulder injury – received that designation seems to suggest the team doesn’t believe either player will be healthy enough to return this season.

Minor Moves: Monday

September 22nd, 2014 at 9:20pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll keep tabs of today’s minor transactions from around the NFL right here, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • The Dolphins have signed Marcus Thigpen to their practice squad, writes Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel. Thigpen spent one week on the Patriots’ practice squad beore being cut last week. Thigpen, a former CFL standout, contributed 1,910 kickoff return yards, 580 punt return yards, and scored three touchdowns for the Dolphins in the past two seasons.
  • The Redskins will sign center Tevita Stevens to their practice squad tomorrow, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter).
  • Steelers linebacker Jarvis Jones, who injured his wrist last night, has been placed on Pittsburgh’s injured reserve list with the designation to return, according to Brian McIntyre (via Twitter). The designation means that Jones will be sidelined for at least the next eight weeks of game action.
  • In advance of tonight’s game against the Jets, the Bears have waived wide receiver Josh Bellamy and promoted linebacker Terrell Manning from their practice squad to the 53-man roster, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
  • Linebacker Keith Smith has been cut by the Cowboys, the team officially announced today (via Twitter). For now, the club has an opening on its 53-man roster.
  • The Ravens are filling the 10th and final opening on their practice squad by re-adding defensive tackle A.J. Pataiali’i, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • After being cut from the team’s active roster before this weekend’s contest against the Colts, safety Craig Loston has rejoined the Jaguars‘ practice squad, tweets John Oehser of Jaguars.com.
  • Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson is set to join the Vikings‘ practice squad, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). When the move becomes official, Minnesota will need to cut or promote someone off the practice squad to clear a spot for Bethel-Thompson.
  • The Buccaneers have removed Rashaan Melvin from their injured reserve list with a settlement, says Wilson (via Twitter).

Minor Moves: Tuesday

September 9th, 2014 at 6:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Here are today’s minor moves..

  • The Redskins are planning on using the short term IR designation for Barry Cofield, which coach Jay Gruden mentioned was a possibility, according to Chris Russell of ESPN 980 (on Twitter). The Redskins have since made the move official. The Redskins promoted safety Akeem Davis to the 53-man roster to fill Cofield’s roster spot, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post (on Twitter). The Redskins also added tight end Je’Ron Hamm and wide receiver Marvin McNutt to fill the void of their taxi squad cuts from earlier today, Jones tweets.
  • The Ravens re-signed Fitzgerald Toussaint to practice squad after he cleared waivers, according to Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). Toussaint was let go to make room for defensive tackle Christo Bilukidi.
  • The Patriots announced that they have signed defensive end Cam Henderson to the practice squad and released quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson from the practice squad to make room. Henderson, 24, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent out of UCF with the Falcons in April of 2013, He has since had stints with the Falcons’ and Browns’ practice squads. Bethel-Thompson, 26, is a Sacramento State product who has been with the Dolphins (2011), Vikings (2012-2013) and 49ers (2013).
  • The Panthers waived former Rutgers tight end and one-time quarterback D.C. Jefferson from injured reserve, less than a week after he was suspended four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, according to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter).
  • The Titans have reached an injury settlement with defensive lineman Antonio Johnson and have released him, tweets Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com.
  • The Seahawks re-signed wide receiver Phil Bates to the practice squad and released linebacker Allen Bradford, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (on Twitter).
  • The Saints waived Ty Nsekhe from the injured reserve today, according to Kat Terrell of The Times-Picayune (on Twitter).
  • Former Bills defensive end Jacquies Smith was claimed by the Buccaneers, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (on Twitter). Smith was let go yesterday by Buffalo.
  • The Titans have signed tight end Brett Brackett to the practice squad and released TE Orson Charles, according to McCormick (on Twitter).
  • Evan Mathis has been sent to the IR by the Eagles but is designated to return, according to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). He’ll be eligible to face the Panthers on November 10th.

Patriots Re-Sign Danny Aiken, Chris White

September 4th, 2014 at 10:32am CST by Luke Adams

The Patriots have officially re-signed long snapper Danny Aiken and linebacker Chris White to their 53-man roster, the team announced today in a press release. The team had initially parted ways with Aiken on Saturday while trimming their roster from 75 to 53, and then cut White on Sunday to make room on the active roster for waiver claims.

Aiken, 26, has been the Patriots’ long snapper for the last three seasons, and figures to continue on in that role in 2014, despite having been shuffled on and off the roster in the last week. As for White, he didn’t have a role on New England’s defense a year ago, but contributed on special teams, logging five tackles in kick and punt coverage.

No corresponding moves will be necessary for the Pats, since the team cut defensive tackles Bruce Gaston and Kelcy Quarles from its roster yesterday. After removing long snapper Charley Hughlett from their practice squad yesterday, the Pats have also filled that 10th and final spot today, re-signing quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson.

Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday

September 3rd, 2014 at 9:03pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s hard to imagine any practice squad updates today will be more notable than the news that Michael Sam has joined the Cowboys’ unit, but there figure to be plenty other teams tweaking their squads. We’ll round up all those items right here:

  • Undrafted rookie center Josh Allen, who was cut by the Bucs, has signed to the Packers‘ practice squad, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter).
  • The Saints re-signed quarterback Ryan Griffin to their practice squad, a source tells Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • The Bengals have filled out their practice squad by adding ex-Chargers wideout Tevin Reese, the team announced today (via Twitter).
  • Safety Matt Daniels has been replaced on the Rams’ practice squad by tight end Brad Smelley, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter).

Earlier updates:

  • The Vikings have confirmed the previously-reported signing of Ahmad Dixon to their practice squad, announcing that tackle Mike Remmers has been cut to make room (Twitter link).
  • When they added Sam to their practice squad, the Cowboys dropped seventh-round linebacker Will Smith, according to a team release.
  • As first reported by Doug Kyed of NESN (via Twitter), linebacker Colton Underwood has signed with the Eagles‘ practice squad, filling the 10th and final opening.
  • The Patriots made a few changes to their practice squad, bringing in guard Chris Barker, running back Marcus Thigpen, and tight end Allen Reisner, according to Kyed (via Twitter). Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, safety Kanorris Davis and defensive back Daxton Swanson appear to no longer be on the squad, writes Lee Schechter of ESPNBoston.com.
  • After working out several players yesterday, the Giants signed one of those players – defensive tackle Dominique Hamilton – to their practice squad today, tweets Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
  • The Ravens brought in former third-round cornerback Jamell Fleming for a visit and added him to their practice squad, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Wilson’s Sun colleague Jeff Zrebiec adds (via Twitter) that cornerback Deji Olatoye has been cut to make room.
  • Safety Ahmad Dixon, who was drafted by the Cowboys in the seventh round this year, is expected to sign with the Vikings‘ practice squad, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Minnesota currently has 10 players on board, so a corresponding move will be required.

Sunday/Monday Transactions: AFC East

September 1st, 2014 at 10:05am CST by Luke Adams

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC East 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 are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am CT 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 East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Buffalo Bills:

Miami Dolphins:

New England Patriots:

New York Jets:

Patriots Notes: FA Tryouts, Worthy, Mallett

August 30th, 2014 at 8:03pm CST by Ben Levine

The Patriots were busy today trimming their roster down to 53 players. However, the team was still actively scouting the free agent market, and ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss reports that 12 players were actually in for tryouts:

Let’s check out some more notes out of New England…

  • Since Jerel Worthy failed to make the Patriots roster, the team doesn’t owe the Packers a draft pick, explains ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky. The Patriots acquired Worthy from the Packers earlier this month for a conditional seventh-rounder.
  • The Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe tweets that the Cowboys could be a landing spot for quarterback Ryan Mallett. The writer also suggests that the Texans and Rams could get involved.
  • The Patriots won’t be provided with any additional cap relief since Isaac Sopoaga failed to make the Cardinals roster, tweets Howe.
  • Following the release of Danny Aiken, the Patriots don’t have a long snapper on the roster. As the Boston Globe’s Shalise Manza Young notes (via Twitter), if the team doesn’t carry a long snapper, it would be the first time they’ve gone without one during Bill Belichick‘s tenure.

49ers Roster Moves, Martin Update

August 25th, 2014 at 9:06pm CST by Rory Parks

Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that 49ers rookie center Marcus Martin is expected to miss eight weeks of the regular season with a kneecap injury.

Also, Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News writes that the 49ers have trimmed their roster to 75 players after making the following series of moves:

Waived

Released

Released off Injured Reserve

Reserve/PUP List

Reserve/Non-Football Injury (NFI) List

  • RB Marcus Lattimore
  • FB Trey Millard
  • CB Keith Reaser
  • G Brandon Thomas

The players on the PUP and NFI lists are eligible to return to practice after the first six weeks of the regular season or otherwise be placed on a season-ending reserve list. That means, of course, that Bowman and Lattimore will officially miss the first six weeks of the season.

As Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee tweets, all seven players that were waived are eligible to be placed on the team’s practice squad.

 

 

49ers’ Not Looking To Add At Quarterback

August 17th, 2014 at 8:41pm CST by Rob DiRe

The bright spots were far and few between during the 49ers’ embarrassing 34-0 defeat to the Broncos earlier today. The team’s signal callers struggled in particular, with the four quarterbacks on the roster failing to produce even a single touchdown drive, and combining to produce three points in two preseason games thus far.

Of the four quarterbacks on the roster, only starter Colin Kaepernick‘s job is secure, and hopefully for the team he will stay healthy and his backups will never see any meaningful action. Even still, there is concern over the uncertainty of the three players vying to be the number two passer on the depth chart.

Blaine Gabbert was thought to have the inside track, after the 49ers traded a sixth round pick to the Jaguars to acquire his services. However, through two preseason games he has completed only 11/27 passes for 60 yards, throwing two interceptions in the process. His performances have left his spot on the team in doubt.

At the same time, fellow backups Josh Johnson and McLeod Bethel-Thompson have failed to impress themselves. Bethel-Thompson has thrown two interceptions himself, and while Johnson escaped the preseason opener without a turnover, he lost a fumble today against the Broncos.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh is unhappy with the amount of turnovers he is seeing from the group, noting that turnovers will be the deciding factor on who gets the nod in the event Kaepernick should need to be replaced, writes Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.

“In terms of a backup quarterback, it’s as simple as who doesn’t turn the ball over,” Harbaugh said. “They’re turning the ball over. All of them have. There’s nobody to elevate. Whoever doesn’t turn the ball over will be the backup quarterback.”

Harbaugh still shot down the idea that the team would look outside the organization for a suitable backup.

One quarterback who could provide an upgrade over the current backups is Christian Ponder, writes Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com (via Twitter). Ponder has fallen out of favor with the Vikings, as Matt Cassel and Teddy Bridgewater are currently battling for the starting job in Minnesota.

The team will of course like to get 16 games out of their starter, but in today’s NFL, a weak backup quarterback can take a contender to a bottom dweller in a hurry.