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Minor NFL Transactions: 4/8/19

April 8th, 2019 at 8:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves, with more Alliance of American Football players finding NFL homes:

Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Signed: DE Karter Schult (AAF)

New York Jets

  • Signed: WR/KR Valentine Holmes (International Player Pathway Program signee)

Oakland Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: QB Luis Perez (AAF)

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: DT Winston Craig (AAF), LB J.T. Jones (AAF), CB Kameron Kelly (AAF)

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

  • Signed: G Salesi Uhatafe (AAF)

Vikings To Sign QB Sean Mannion

April 7th, 2019 at 1:47pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Vikings have agreed to sign backup quarterback Sean Mannion, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal for Mannion, tweets Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune, and it’s worth up to $900K, per Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link).

Having lost 2018 backup Trevor Siemian to the Jets, Minnesota was searching for a signal-caller to play behind Kirk Cousins. Mannion met with the club last week, as did former Dolphins passer David Fales.

A third-round pick of the Rams in the 2015 draft, Mannion has only attempted 53 passes during his four-year NFL career. His most significant action came in Week 17 of the 2017 campaign, when he started a meaningless game against the 49ers. In Mannion’s only pro start, he completed 20 of 34 passes for 134 yards.

Mannion was replaced in Los Angeles by former Jaguars starter Blake Bortles, and hadn’t been linked to any other clubs in free agency. Despite his inexperience, Mannion is the favorite for No. 2 duties in Minnesota, although he could face competition for 2017 undrafted free agent Kyle Sloter.

Cousins has proven extremely durable throughout his career, so Mannion may not get the opportunity to see much action for the Vikings. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2015, Cousins has started 64 consecutive games.

NFL Workout Updates: 4/5/19

April 5th, 2019 at 8:59pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

After the AAF ceased operations, they allowed their players to begin looking for NFL contracts. A handful of players were immediately swooped up, but many more are taking their time. Players are beginning to take visits and have workouts, and we’ve compiled the latest below:

Baltimore Ravens

  • S Dexter McCoil

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • QB Brandon Silvers (AAF)

Minnesota Vikings

  • QB Brandon Silvers

New York Jets

  • QB Brandon Silvers

Philadelphia Eagles

  • QB Luis Perez (AAF)

Silvers will be busy this week, as he has three visits scheduled. Silvers started the AAF season as the third-string quarterback for the Memphis Express behind Christian Hackenberg and Zach Mettenberger. But after Hackenberg was benched and Mettenberger was injured, Silvers became the starter and played well. It looks as if the Troy alum will get a shot with an NFL team in training camp.

 

 

Latest On Vikings Backup Quarterback Situation

April 5th, 2019 at 7:59pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg
  • With Trevor Siemian bolting for the Jets, the Vikings are still trying to figure out their backup quarterback situation. They met with quarterback David Fales on Friday, per a team announcement. Fales spent last year as Miami’s number three quarterback behind Ryan Tannehill and Brock Osweiler. Minnesota also hosted former Rams backup Sean Mannion on a visit last week, but he left without a contract. Even though there was no agreement, Mannion is still “VERY much on the Vikings radar,” tweets Darren Wolfson of 5News Minneapolis. As of this writing, Kyle Sloter is the only other QB on the roster behind Kirk Cousins.

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/5/19

April 5th, 2019 at 7:14pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We’ve got a bunch of minor moves today, with a handful of players being signed from the recently defunct AAF:

Carolina Panthers

  • Signed: G Kitt O’Brien, C Parker Collins (both from AAF)

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: WR Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi

Dallas Cowboys

Miami Dolphins

  • Signed: OL Michael Dunn (AAF)

Minnesota Vikings

Oakland Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: C J.C. Hassenauer, DB Jack Tocho (both from AAF)

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Redskins

  • Signed: DE Andrew Ankrah (AAF)

 

NFL Suspends Vikings CB Holton Hill

April 5th, 2019 at 3:56pm CST by Zachary Links

Vikings cornerback Holton Hill has been suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs, the league announced. It’s unfortunate news for the Vikings as Mike Hughes is still working his way back from an ACL tear. 

Hill, 22, made the Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of Texas and wound up appearing in all 16 games for the Vikings last year, including three starts. He finished out with 36 tackles in total and made his first career interception in the Vikings’ October romp over the Jets.

The Vikings recently picked up a couple of defensive backs displaced by the collapse of the AAF, so they’ll at least be covered on the depth chart. Still, losing Hill is less than ideal.

Vikings Re-Sign C Brett Jones

April 1st, 2019 at 10:46am CST by Zachary Links

The Vikings have re-signed center Brett Jones, per a club announcement. It’s a one-year deal with a base salary of $850K that could be worth up to $1.5MM through incentives, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press (on Twitter).

The Vikings acquired Jones late last summer via trade with the Giants. In his first season with the Vikes, Jones appeared in 14 games, including three starts at center. Prior to that, Jones appeared in 30 games (14 starts) across three seasons with the G-Men and won a Grey Cup title in 2014 with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders.

The Vikings offered Jones a contract earlier this month, but he did not immediately accept. Meanwhile, center Tyler Shatley circled back to the Jaguars after visiting with the Vikings and Jones, as far as we know, did not go on any other visits. It only made sense for the two sides to reunite as the Vikings needed a backup for Pat Elflein.

Jones started the first three games of the 2018 season while Elflein was injured. He’s likely eager to start somewhere, as he did with the Giants in 2017, but he’ll serve as Elflein’s understudy for at least one more year. Jones can also play guard, which may give him another path to getting on the field.

Vikings Made Offer To Trevor Siemian?

March 31st, 2019 at 9:41pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • Peyton Manning has advocated for Adam Gase on a few occasions, and he did so again to help steer Trevor Siemian to Gase’s current team. Siemian signed with the Jets this week. Siemian said (via Ethan Greenberg of NewYorkJets.com) his decision came down to, like Anthony Barr‘s, New York or Minnesota. After exchanging texts with Manning, the new Jets backup indicated his former teammate’s belief in Gase remains. This and other factors helped the fifth-year quarterback choose the Jets. Manning played three seasons under Gase, setting multiple high-profile records in 2013. Siemian did not arrive in Denver until the Gary Kubiak regime, however. The Vikings were interested in bringing back Siemian and have yet to sign a replacement QB2, though that is the goal.
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