Minor NFL Transactions: 9/26/17
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Released: DT Deandre Coleman
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OL Tim Lelito
- Placed on IR: OG Joe Dahl
Houston Texans
- Released: WR Andy Jones
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted to active roster: WR Krishawn Hogan
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: LB Justin March-Lillard
San Francisco 49ers
- Released from IR: WR B.J. Johnson
Dolphins Reinstate LB Lawrence Timmons
Dolphins linebacker Lawrence Timmons has been reinstated by the team, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) has learned. With his suspension lifted, he will play on Sunday versus the Saints. 
Timmons went AWOL prior to Miami’s Week 2 contest and was suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team. At the time of the ban, the Dolphins gave little indication as to whether Timmons would ever be able to rejoin the squad. We later learned that Timmons left the team in L.A. to visit the mother of his child in Pennsylvania. He did not notify the team of his plans beforehand.
Timmons reportedly visited the Steelers (his former team) during Miami’s Week 1 bye and watched the club practice. We don’t know exactly what is going on with the veteran, but it sounds like homesickness is at least part of it.
The Dolphins managed to beat the Chargers without Timmons in Week 2, but they lost to the Jets on Sunday. Miami will look to get back on the right track this weekend against the Saints in London, England.
Miami signed Timmons to a two-year, $12MM deal in the offseason. In 2016, he racked up 114 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two interceptions for the Steelers. When he went AWOL in Week 2, he missed his first game since 2009.
NFL Waiver Priority Now Based On 2017 Record
We’re coming up on Week 4 of the NFL season and that means that waiver claim priority will be based on the current league standings instead of last year’s. Of course, waiver priority is based on the inverted NFL standings, which have built in tiebreakers to sort out the many logjams that naturally occur.
Throughout the offseason and the first three weeks of the regular season, the Browns enjoyed top priority thanks to their 1-15 finish last year. Now, we have a brand new pecking order. Here is a full rundown of the current waiver claim priority, which will change from week to week (Twitter links via Field Yates of ESPN.com):
T-1. Bengals
T-1. Browns
T-1. 49ers
4. Giants
5. Chargers
6. Colts
T-7. Texans
T-7. Seahawks
9. Cardinals
10. Jets
11. Saints
12. Bears
13. Dolphins
14. Buccaneers
15. Ravens
T-16. Panthers
T-16. Cowboys
T-16. Rams
T-16. Steelers
T-20. Broncos
T-20. Lions
T-20. Packers
23. Vikings
T-24. Bills
T-24. Jaguars
T-24. Patriots
T-24. Raiders
T-24. Eagles
T-24. Titans
30. Redskins
31. Chiefs
32. Falcons
Drew Rosenhaus "Optimistic" Lawrence Timmons Returns To Dolphins
- Lawrence Timmons is now in limbo after going AWOL and being suspended by the Dolphins, but his agent Drew Rosenhaus is “cautiously optimistic” the veteran linebacker will be able to return to Miami, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Dolphins head coach Adam Gase seemingly opened the window for Timmons last week, indicating that his situation could be forgiven. Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported Sunday that Timmons visited his former club — the Steelers — during Miami’s Week 1 bye and expressed regret for signing with the Dolphins this spring.
Jarvis Landry On Contract Talks
The Dolphins still haven’t offered contract year wide receiver Jarvis Landry a new deal, but 24-year-old slot weapon isn’t worried about the lack of negotiations. “The number I may want may not be the number the team is willing to give me,” Landry told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “It’s about finding that negotiating price that works for both parties. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten offers. But when the process starts, I want nothing less than what I deserve.” Landry ackowledged he would accept the franchise tag in 2018, although Miami is unlikely to extend an offer — even over one year — of $15MM+ for a slot receiver.
Latest On Dolphins LB Lawrence Timmons
In what amounts to a bizarre twist in an already odd story, Dolphins linebacker Lawrence Timmons visited his former team — the Steelers — during Miami’s Week 1 bye and watched the club practice, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
Timmons, of course, went AWOL prior to Miami’s Week 2 contest and has subsequently been suspended indefinitely. But prior to that episode, Timmons ventured to Pittsburgh (his professional home from 2007-16) and was allowed into the Steelers’ facility. Most players and team officials were unaware Timmons planned to attend practice, although head coach Mike Tomlin had some idea of the visit, per La Canfora.
Timmons reportedly told his former Steelers teammates that he wanted to return to Pittsburgh, and essentially called his decision to sign with the Dolphins this offseason a mistake. The 31-year-old Timmons inked a two-year, $12MM deal with Miami in March that included $11MM in full guarantees.
Clearly, an under-contract player attending the practice of another NFL team is extremely peculiar event, but it’s unclear if that incident will affect Timmons’ status with the Dolphins. Head coach Adam Gase seemingly opened the window for a Timmons return last week, but La Canfora reports the veteran linebacker may never play a down for the club.
Timmons Could Forfeit Part Of Bonus
- Lawrence Timmons‘ pre-Week 2 disappearance will be costly. The Dolphins linebacker signed a two-year, $12MM deal but will lose money because of the suspension his new team handed down this week. In addition to voiding the $4.5MM in guaranteed money attached to his 2018 salary, Timmons stands to lose as much as $235K in base salary this season — since he can only be suspended for four weeks under the CBA — and could be set to forfeit signing bonus money, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reports. Volin adds the linebacker could be forced to refund 4/17ths of this year’s portion of his $5.5MM signing bonus. This team-imposed ban could cost Timmons $882K this season before giving Miami greater leverage over him in 2018 because of voided guarantees.
- Jay Cutler reached out to Matt Forte about a possible Jets path, but his longtime Bears teammate couldn’t provide many details about an offensive system about to change, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports. Although the Jets and Cutler had multiple visits scheduled, neither came to fruition and the interest wasn’t heavy on either side. Cutler also talked with former Broncos and Bears quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates, Gang Green’s current QBs instructor, throughout his first free agency process, per Mehta. But with Bates not calling plays in New York, that connection didn’t have the kind of appeal that would have induced Cutler to sign with the rebuilding team. Instead, Cutler’s second wave of free agency became a Dolphins-centric odyssey.
Dolphins Notes: Timmons, Anthony, Boone
The Dolphins discussed acquiring linebacker Stephone Anthony from the Saints even before the club suspended veteran Lawrence Timmons, head coach Adam Gase told reporters, including Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). That’s not entirely surprising, given that Miami had been short on linebackers even before the Timmons saga began. Rookie Raekwon McMillan, pegged to start at middle linebacker for the Dolphins, tore his ACL before the season began, so adding a former first-round talent such as Anthony for the cost of a fifth-round pick makes some sense.
- While Timmons is suspended indefinitely, it’s not out of the question that he returns to the Dolphins at some point, as Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald writes. Expected to be an integral part of Miami’s defense after agreeing to a two-year contract this spring, Timmons would likely ingratiate himself to teammates with an apology, opines Salguero. “I think every situation is different,” Gase said of Timmons. “And I would say you can be forgiven if the right steps are taken.”
- Despite a seemingly gaping hole at left guard, the Dolphins did not express interest in Alex Boone after he was released by the Vikings earlier this month, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Instead, Miami is content to rotate Anthony Steen and Jesse Davis on the interior, with Steen handling roughly two-thirds of the club’s offensive snaps. Boone went on to sign a one-year, $1.4MM deal with the Cardinals.
NFL Workout Updates: 9/19/17
Today’s workout updates:
Carolina Panthers
- T Laurence Gibson; CB Tevin Homer (Twitter link via Howard Balzer)
Chicago Bears
- QBs Garrett Grayson and Bart Houston; WRs Marlon Brown, Bug Howard, Kyle Prater, Tevaun Smith, Daniel Williams, and James Wright; TE D.J. Tialavea; C Mark Spelman; T Givens Price; LBs Carl Bradford and Shayne Skov; DTs Stefan Charles, Mike Purcell, and Nick Williams (Link via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune)
Dallas Cowboys
- OLs Michael Dunn, Jake Eldrenkamp, Kaleb Johnson, and Jarron Jones; LB Tre’Von Johnson; DT Caraun Reid, CBs Chris Lewis-Harris, JaCorey Shepherd, D’Joun Smith, and Ian Wells (Twitter link via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News)
Green Bay Packers
- QB Jerod Evans; RB Algeron Brown; WRs C.J. Board, Alonzo Moore, and Jordan Williams; TE Ryan O’Malley; DTs Jeremy Faulk and Joey Ivie (Link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- DTs Ryan Carrethers, John Hughes, and Cam Thomas (Twitter link via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union)
Kansas City Chiefs
- LB Garrett Sickels; CBs Makinton Dorleant and Ezra Robinson (Twitter link via Adam Caplan)
Miami Dolphins
- LB Zaviar Gooden (Twitter link via Caplan)
New York Jets
- WRs Corey Brown, Josh Huff and Paul Turner; G Robert Myers; DL Stefan Charles, Datone Jones, Alex McCalister, and Joby Saint Fleur; CBs Malik Foreman and D.J. Killings; S Jordan Moore. (Twitter links via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, Caplan, Balzer (1, 2) and Wilson)
San Francisco 49ers
- OL Willie Beavers, Wil Freeman, Laurence Gibson, and Max Rich (Twitter link via Caplan and Balzer)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- CB Randall Evans (Twitter link via Caplan)
Dolphins Acquire LB Stephone Anthony
The Dolphins have acquired linebacker Stephone Anthony from the Saints, Miami announced today. New Orleans will receive a 2018 fifth-round pick from the Dolphins, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Veteran linebacker Lawrence Timmons was dealt a team suspension earlier today after leaving the Dolphins over the weekend, so the club was on the hunt for help at the second level of its defense. Anthony, who can be controlled through the 2019 season via the fifth-year option, will give Miami reinforcements at linebacker for the remainder of the season and also for the long haul.
Thought to be a candidate for release prior to the regular season, Anthony has been bandied about as a trade candidate for some time. The Saints simply have too many linebackers on their roster, and the club’s starting jobs went to free agent acquisitions Manti Te’o and A.J. Klein and third-round rookie Alex Anzalone. With Craig Robertson, Michael Mauti, and Nathan Stupar also available in reserve, New Orleans had no place for Anthony.
Anthony, 25, was a full-time starter in 2015 after entering the league as a first-round selection out of Clemson. But his playing time dwindled last season, as he started only three games and played on just 133 defensive snaps before a knee injury ended his campaign in December. Anthony, who also played on roughly a quarter of New Orleans’ special teams snaps, managed just 15 tackles after posting 112 stops during his rookie year.
The Dolphins will be on the hook for the remainder of Anthony’s ~$1.1MM base salary (which is fully guaranteed), and will be responsible for a similar, non-guaranteed figure in 2018. Miami will then have until next May to decide on Anthony’s 2019 fifth-year option. The Dolphins won’t need to make a roster move to accommodate Anthony’s arrival, as Timmons no longer counts against the team’s 53-man count.