Mike Mohamed

Workout Notes: Bills, Boykin, Little

Here are Wednesday’s workouts from around the NFL. All links go to the Twitter feed of The Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson, unless noted otherwise:

Workout Notes: 12/8/15

There were a plethora of workouts around the NFL today. Here they are:

Workout Notes: Jets, Giants, Pats, Colts

Wednesday’s workouts from around the NFL:

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/10/15

Here are Tuesday’s minor signings, cuts, and other moves from around the NFL:

  • The Saints have signed linebacker James Anderson, as Katherine Terrell of The Times-Picayune tweets. The Saints have been thin at linebacker recently, with injuries to strongside linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha (ankle), weakside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe (hip/groin), and backup Ramon Humber, so Anderson will provide additional depth for New Orleans. To make room for Anderson, the Saints have cut fellow linebacker Mike Mohamed, as Mike Triplett of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Vikings announced that they have signed linebacker Jason Trusnik while placing fellow linebacker Audie Cole on IR. Trusnik, a former Division-III standout, was cut by the Panthers before the final trim down to a 53-man roster. He first broke into the league as a UDFA with the Jets in 2007. The Ohio native has played in 109 career games with 24 starts, tallying 146 total tackles, 4 PDs, 4 FRs and 1 FF in his first eight NFL seasons. Cole wasn’t a factor on the Vikings’ defense, but he was playing more than half of the club’s special teams snaps before fracturing his ankle.
  • The Giants announced that they have added defensive tackle Montori Hughes to the active roster while placing defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins on IR. Hankins suffered a torn pectoral muscle over the weekend, ending his 2015 season prematurely. Hughes, who stands at 6’4″ and weighs 350 pounds, played in 16 games for the Colts between 2013 and 2014.
  • The Browns announced that they have activated defensive back Charles Gaines and running back Glenn Winston. Both players were previously sidelined with injuries.
  • The Buccaneers announced that they have signed safety Kimario McFadden, who played with them in the preseason. To make room for McFadden on the 53-man roster, the Buccaneers waived defensive end Lawrence Sidbury.
  • The Chargers announced that they have signed tight end Sean McGrath while waiving guard Craig Watts. McGrath briefly retired following his second season in 2013, a season in which he caught 26 balls for 302 yards and two touchdowns.
  • The Chiefs will promote safety Saalim Hakim from the practice squad, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Bears will promote wide receiver Deonte Thompson to the 53-man roster from the taxi squad, Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune tweets.

Saints Sign Mike Mohamed

The Saints have added a former Texans linebacker to their 53-man roster, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, who reports that New Orleans decided to sign Mike Mohamed after bringing him in for a workout.

Mohamed, who began his NFL career after being selected by the Broncos in the sixth round of the 2011 draft, saw his most extensive action for the Texans last season, recording 67 tackles, an interception, and six passes defended in 14 games. However, a calf injury derailed the start of Mohamed’s 2015 campaign, and ultimately resulted in Houston placing him on injured reserve, despite the fact that it wasn’t a season-ending ailment.

“I want to play this season,” Mohamed said a little over a month ago, when he landed on IR. “It won’t be here, but I want to play somewhere and get back on the field. I’m almost back from the injury, so it’s kind of frustrating to go on injured reserve, but I understand that they didn’t feel like they could wait.”

Ultimately, the Texans worked out an injury settlement with Mohamed that would allow him to sign with another team after three weeks. Now that he’s healthy, he’s headed to New Orleans, where David Hawthorne and Dannell Ellerbe are banged up. Mohamed figures to provide depth at linebacker and perhaps contribute on special teams.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/7/15

Let’s round up Wednesday’s minor transactions from around the league:

  • Will the ninth time be the charm for Andre Fluellen? As Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com details, the Lions have signed the veteran defensive lineman for his ninth different stint with the team. Given all the time he has spent in Detroit, Fluellen obviously knows the Lions’ defensive system, so he’ll help provide depth in the middle with Tyrunn Walker on IR and Haloti Ngata hurting as well.
  • We heard on Monday that tight end Daniel Fells was headed to the Giants‘ injured reserve list due to a staph infection, and the team made that move official today, confirming it in a press release. New York promoted wide receiver Myles White to its active roster from the practice squad to get back up to 53 players.
  • The Bears have elevated defensive back Demontre Hurst to their active roster, the team announced today (via Twitter). Hurst is the second practice squad to get a promotion this week, as the club parted ways with punter Spencer Lanning and linebacker John Timu.
  • The Buccaneers have re-added linebacker Orie Lemon to their 53-man roster, according to a team release. Lemon takes the roster spot vacated by defensive end Josh Martin, who was waived/injured by Tampa Bay.
  • The Texans have reached a three-week injury settlement with linebacker Mike Mohamed, removing him from their IR, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. The agreement allows Mohamed to sign with another team in three weeks, though he can’t return to Houston for nine weeks.

AFC Notes: Mohamed, Steelers, Davis, Pats

The Texans placed linebacker Mike Mohamed on injured reserve this week, despite the fact that he says he has almost recovered from his calf injury. Mohamed tells Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle that he’ll talk to his agent, Ken Landphere, to determine what happens now — they may pursue an injury settlement with Houston, allowing the linebacker to reach free agency.

“I want to play this season,” Mohamed said. “It won’t be here, but I want to play somewhere and get back on the field. I’m almost back from the injury, so it’s kind of frustrating to go on injured reserve, but I understand that they didn’t feel like they could wait.”

While the Texans would like to bring back Mohamed when he’s healthy, an injury settlement prevents a player from re-signing with his old team for at least six weeks. During that time, Mohamed is a good bet to find a new job with another team.

Here’s more from across the AFC:

  • After missing a pair of field goals in the Steelers‘ loss last night, Josh Scobee has now missed four field goals and an extra point through four games with his new team. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk suggests that finding someone who can convert kicks on a consistent basis should be a top priority for Pittsburgh moving forward. Meanwhile, longtime Steelers kicker Jeff Reed, who hasn’t played an NFL game since 2010, still wants to make a comeback and says he’d love a shot to try out for Pittsburgh (link via CBS Pittsburgh).
  • Less than two weeks into his stint with the Ravens, cornerback Will Davis already looks better than he ever did with the Dolphins, writes Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. As Salguero outlines, it’s the latest case of a player becoming more productive with a new team after leaving Miami, a worrisome trend for the Dolphins.
  • The Patriots have been active on the trade market during the last few weeks, and acquired two more defensive players this week. With the November 3 trade deadline just over a month away, Andy Hart at CSNNE.com wonders if Bill Belichick will look to land some help at cornerback as well.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/30/15

Here are Wednesday’s minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from across the NFL:

  • The Patriots released linebacker Dekoda Watson, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. The veteran played primarily on special teams in the last two games.

Earlier Updates:

  • It was a busy day for the Texans, who overhauled their linebacker corps in an effort to improve the club’s special teams play. According to a press release, the Texans promoted ILB Max Bullough from their own practice squad, signed ILB Brian Peters from the Vikings’ practice squad, and signed OLB Kourtnei Brown from the Bucs’ practice squad. As Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets, the club placed linebackers Mike Mohamed and Carlos Thompson on injured reserve.
  • The Jets have parted ways with one of their draft picks from this past May, waiving seventh-round defensive tackle Deon Simon today, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Simon, 25, has yet to see any action in a regular season NFL game.
  • Having cut running back Mike James earlier in the week, the Buccaneers had an open roster spot, and used that opening to promote tackle Reid Fragel from their practice squad, according to a team release. Fragel initially survived Tampa Bay’s cutdown to 53 players, but was dropped and signed to the practice squad after the Bucs claimed several players off waivers.
  • The Steelers made a change to their defense today, announcing that they’ve cut defensive end Caushaud Lyons, promoting linebacker Anthony Chickillo to their active roster to replace him.

Extra Points: Los Angeles, Raiders, Wilkerson

As the Rams, Raiders, and Chargers jockey to get into Los Angeles, Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter links) hears that the NFL could look to put one team in L.A. in 2016 and another in 2017 and delay the opening of new stadium to 2019 so that the second team has sufficient time to market. Meanwhile, if the Raiders are the team that gets squeezed out, some have floated the idea of them relocating to San Diego while the Bolts and Rams to go Inglewood.

Here’s more from around the NFL..

  • Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (on Twitter) hears that there is no Sunday deadline for the Jets and Muhammad Wilkerson to hammer out a contract. If necessary, he hears that the Jets and Wilkerson will continue discussions into the season. On Thursday, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported that the two sides are “nowhere close on a deal.” He also heard from a source that Wilkerson will not negotiate during the season.
  • The Panthers will work out former Giants defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. Ellis, who was released on Sunday in favor of Louis Nix, spent four seasons with the Jets before signing with Big Blue in March.
  • Texans starting inside linebacker Mike Mohamed is out two to four weeks with a calf injury, according to sources who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).