NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/9/15
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from across the NFL:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: QB Bryn Renner (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun)
- Cut: S Nick Perry
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE Marcel Jensen, C Ronald Patrick (Twitter links via Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: RB Jahwan Edwards (Twitter link via team)
- Cut: QB Jeff Tuel
New England Patriots
- Signed: LB Eric Martin (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: RB Bronson Hill (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of the New Orleans Times-Picayune)
San Diego Chargers
- Signed: TE Tim Semisch (press release via team)
- Placed on PS-IR: TE Alex Bayer
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Douglas McNeil (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
East Notes: McCoy, Murray, Tannehill, Pats
With the Bills and Eagles set to square off this weekend, with both teams fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive, the offseason trade that sent Kiko Alonso to Philadelphia and LeSean McCoy to Buffalo has become a popular topic of discussion once again.
In a conversation with Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, McCoy said this week that he’s no longer upset about the fact that the Eagles unexpectedly dealt him, adding that he doesn’t hold a grudge against head coach Chip Kelly. As for Alonso, he’s downplaying the storyline involving him and McCoy, telling reporters this week that “the fact that I got traded for him has no relevance at all” (link via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
As we wait to see how McCoy and Alonso fare against their old teams, let’s check in on a few more items from around the NFL’s East divisions….
- After a report surfaced suggesting he spoke to team owner Jeffrey Lurie about his role with the Eagles, running back DeMarco Murray had no interest in talking to reporters on Tuesday about the subject, as Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News details.
- Ryan Tannehill hasn’t exactly been lighting it up since signing his lucrative, long-term contract extension, but the Dolphins remain committed to him for now. However, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald observes, Tannehill’s base salaries beyond 2016 are non-guaranteed, so the club could have an out after next season if the quarterback doesn’t show signs of progress.
- Former Buccaneers cornerback Leonard Johnson, who worked out for the Patriots on Monday, has stuck around the area and looks like the favorite to fill the team’s open roster spot, tweets Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. After appearing in all 48 of the Bucs’ regular season games from 2012 to 2014 starting 17 of them, Johnson was cut from the injured reserve list by Tampa Bay last week.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/8/15
Here are today’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the league:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: S Terrance Parks (Twitter link via team)
- Cut: CB T.J. Heath
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: TE Harold Spears (press release via team)
Chicago Bears
- Signed: QB Matt Blanchard (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune)
- Cut: QB Justin Worley
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Chris Lewis-Harris (Twitter link via Coley Harvey of ESPN.com)
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: TE Connor Hamlett, DB Tim Scott (press release via team)
- Cut: DB Kendall James
Denver Broncos
- Signed: OL Cameron Jefferson (press release via team)
- Cut: T Antonio Johnson
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Jamel Johnson (Twitter link via Rob Demovksy of ESPN.com), RB Ross Scheuerman (Twitter link via the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson)
- Cut: DB Kyle Sebetic
Houston Texans
- Signed: LB Tony Washington (Twitter link via Wilson)
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Edwin Jackson (press release via team)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: LB Sean Porter (Twitter link via Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com)
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: LB Terrance Plummer (press release via team)
New England Patriots
- Cut: TE Joseph Fauria (Twitter link via ESPN’s Mike Reiss)
New York Giants
- Signed: CB Leon McFadden and OT Jake Rodgers (Twitter link via James Kratch of NJ Advance Media)
New York Jets
- Signed: TE Brandon Bostick (Twitter link via team)
Seattle Seahawks
- To be signed: WR Antwan Goodley (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com)
- Cut: WR DeShon Foxx (Twitter link via The Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta)
More Minor NFL Transactions: 12/8/15
Updates from earlier today can be found here. The latest…
- The Lions released defensive tackle Andre Fluellen from injured reserve, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Fluellen has had several stints with the Lions, among other teams, since they used a third-round pick on him in 2008. He has appeared in 81 career games and totaled 69 tackles and 4.5 sacks. Fluellen played four games for the Lions this year and made four tackles.
- The Seahawks waived veteran tight end Chase Coffman, reports Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times (Twitter link). Coffman, who has 14 career catches, joined the Seahawks last week but didn’t appear in their 38-7 win over the Vikings.
- The Cardinals placed guard Earl Watford on injured reserve with a hand injury and promoted safety D.J. Swearinger from their practice squad, per Darren Urban of their website (Twitter link). Watford appeared in seven games and made two starts this year. Swearinger appeared in seven games for Tampa Bay earlier this season, but he garnered more extensive experience (32 games, 22 starts) in Houston from 2013-14.
- The Patriots released cornerback Rashaan Melvin, per Wilson (Twitter link). Melvin has spent time with both New England and Baltimore since entering the league as an undrafted free agent out of Northern Illinois last year. He appeared in eight games and made six tackles for the Pats this season.
- The Chiefs cut offensive lineman Daniel Munyer, according to Wilson (Twitter link). The undrafted rookie from Colorado made one appearance for the Chiefs this season.
East Notes: Coughlin, Flowers, Jets, Patriots
As the latest Giants‘ blown lead continues the latest speculation surrounding Tom Coughlin‘s job, the 12th-year Giants coach admits frustration by his critical decisions being sabotaged by on-field sequences, Tom Rock of Newsday writes.
Big Blue’s longtime leader, though, said he doesn’t pay attention to inquiries about his job being in jeopardy.
Coughlin’s led the Giants to five playoff berths — which is one shy of Bill Parcells‘ six for the most in team history since the AFL-NFL merger — three NFC East titles and two Super Bowls since taking the franchise’s reins in 2004.
Here’s some more from East Rutherford, N.J., and some of the other Eastern-division teams.
- Coughlin’s questionable clock management this season notwithstanding, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News writes the Giants’ injuries and overall lack of talent have put the team on the verge of missing the postseason for a fourth straight year. Vacchiano sees the Eli Manning-to-Odell Beckham connection as perhaps Big Blue’s only playoff-worthy facet, with injuries to Victor Cruz, Johnathan Hankins and maladies across the offensive line have exposed a lack of depth.
- Ereck Flowers remains on crutches after going down with an ankle injury in Sunday’s loss to the Jets, NFL.com’s Kimberly Jones reports (on Twitter). Fellow rookie Bobby Hart, a seventh-rounder, represents the Giants’ only remaining tackle depth behind Flowers and Marshall Newhouse.
- Sidelined with a Lisfranc injury Jets defensive end Mike Catapano will be out at least a couple of games and could be an injured reserve candidate, ESPN.com Rich Cimini tweets. Serving as depth behind star defensive ends Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson, Catapano’s played in three games for the Jets this season after residing in Kansas City the past two years.
- Tom Brady‘s legal team lobbed some more salvos at the NFL, when the league attempted to have the Patriots quarterback’s four-game suspension reinstated. The NFLPA argued Judge Richard Berman was not starstruck by Brady’s celebrity, according to Bob McGovern of the Boston Herald.
- The Patriots hosted cornerback Leonard Johnson on a visit, according to ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss (via Twitter). A 25-year-old former UDFA, Johnson served as the Buccaneers’ nickel back last season and started 17 games for Tampa Bay from 2012-14. He hasn’t played in 2015.
Extra Points: Amendola, Patriots, Los Angeles
Returning from injury, Patriots receiver Danny Amendola has had a nice — and profitable — day so far, as New England is tied with Philadelphia as the contest heads to halftime. Amendola not only caught a touchdown pass from Tom Brady, but caught his 50th pass of the season, good for a $150K bonus, according to Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link).
Here’s more from around the league as the second slate of NFL games reach their midway points…
- Appearing on the Patriots‘ pre-game show, owner Robert Kraft said that NFL owners discussed the possibility of moving a team — or teams — to Los Angeles for roughly three hours at last week’s owner’s meetings. However, the group still has “no sense” of what clubs will ultimately end up in southern California (Twitter link via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe).
- While the owners might not have a solid plan for the NFL in LA, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has several, which he outlined earlier this morning. Each scenario involves some combination of the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders in either Carson or Inglewood, CA, and the entire post is well worth a read.
- The league recently shortened the legal tampering period from three days to two, and according to Florio, that’s not the only change the NFL will implement. Actual negotiations will be allowed to take place during that two-day window, a source tells Florio, instead of just vague contract concepts. Whether or not that means teams and agents can come to concrete agreements is still unknown.
East Notes: Kelly, McDaniels, Coughlin
Just a week after Eagles head coach Chip Kelly was said to be “despondent” and “mulling all options” on the heels of back-t0-back blowout losses, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that the head coach is likely to return to the Philadelphia sidelines in 2016. Owner Jeffrey Lurie remains a staunch Kelly supporter, even though he is aware of some dissension in the locker room, and per La Canfora, Lurie “did not hand Kelly total control to the roster a few months ago to consider launching a new search for a coach and GM now.” Although it is not inconceivable that Kelly could return to the college ranks in 2016, those vacancies are filling up quickly and team officials would be shocked if Kelly left the Eagles before completing his fourth season with the club.
- Although Kelly surely appreciates Lurie’s loyalty, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if Kelly himself is too loyal to under-performing players. During Kelly’s tenure with the Eagles, he has never released or benched a player for poor performance, and McLane thinks certain members of the club may have become complacent.
- Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is once again a hot head coaching candidate, and La Canfora writes that he is open to speaking with teams this offseason. Of course, given McDaniels’ disastrous stint in Denver, he would only go to a team that has a strong organizational structure from ownership down, since another failed tenure would likely spell the end of his head coaching opportunities. Many clubs are enamored with McDaniels’ offensive mind and ability to extract a great deal of production from an offense that has to continually reinvent itself, and McDaniels is viewed as the closest thing to a Belichick clone to emerge from the Belichick coaching tree.
- If McDaniels is to leave the Patriots, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe sees the Lions as the most likely landing spot, given that the team has a good young quarterback in place and ownership that has shown patience in the past. The Titans have been viewed as a fit, and they may be, but their ownership situation is unstable, and Volin does not believe McDaniels would disrespect New England by going to a team like the Dolphins or Colts that has a history of bad blood with the Patriots.
- Giants head coach Tom Coughlin may be on the hot seat, but as Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News writes, Coughlin typically thrives with his back to the wall. Of course, the team had a chance to take a commanding lead in the NFC East last week and failed to do so, which means that the Giants’ string of four straight seasons without a playoff berth is in danger of continuing. If that happens, Coughlin’s two Super Bowl rings and respect from team ownership may not be enough to save him.
AFC East Notes: Dolphins, McDaniels, Burgess
Within his latest column, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald explores several of the personnel decisions facing the Dolphins in the coming weeks and months. Jackson suggests that the team would like to add at least one defensive end, though that doesn’t rule out the possibility of Olivier Vernon and/or Derrick Shelby returning. Quinton Coples is also in the club’s plans for 2016, albeit at a reduced salary, says Jackson.
While defensive end is one key situation worth monitoring in Miami, the Dolphins will also face decisions on cornerback Brent Grimes, linebackers Koa Misi and Earl Mitchell, running back Lamar Miller, and pass-catchers Rishard Matthews and Jordan Cameron, as Jackson details.
Here’s more from out of the AFC East:
- Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald also looks ahead to the Dolphins‘ offseason, writing that the team’s greatest areas of need are at defensive end, middle linebacker, and cornerback. As Salguero observes, with the club set to hire a new head coach and coaching staff, many of the decisions Miami makes in the next few weeks will determine the direction of the franchise for the next several years.
- Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is generating “a lot of buzz” as a potential head coaching candidate, writes Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. Having already had one head coaching job that went south, McDaniels will have to be selective this time if he has the opportunity to interview for offseason vacancies. Volin suggests that the Lions may be a fit for McDaniels, if Detroit looks to replace Jim Caldwell.
- British rugby star Tom Burgess, who worked out for the Giants last week, also auditioned for both the Jets and Bills, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). If Burgess is serious about giving the NFL a shot, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him land a reserve/futures contract at season’s end with one of the teams trying him out this month.
Breer’s Latest: Dolphins, Gronk, Cowboys, Texans
Dan Campbell‘s decision to jettison both his coordinators, with OC Bill Lazor being the second to go, as an interim coach likely stemmed from the tough-minded instructor’s dismay at the Dolphins being referred to as a “finesse team in a power division,” Albert Breer of NFL.com reports.
Miami ranks 27th in rushing yards per game but sixth in yards per carry at 4.6 and attempted just 23 combined runs the past two games. This led to a sense that Lazor was losing his players, per Breer.
Lazor and Ryan Tannehill began to have a less-than-ideal QB-OC relationship, and Breer now notes Campbell will take a more involved role in the Fins’ offensive approach. So, Lamar Miller will probably see more touches going forward.
Here are some more notes from the veteran NFL scribe.
- Rob Gronkowski‘s league-high five offensive-pass interference penalties stem from teams alerting officials to the Patriots‘ brand of pick routes against an increasing amount of man coverage, with Gronk’s size making separation at route stems noticeable. Defensive coordinators are torn on the degree of the All-Pro tight end’s level of infraction, with one saying “He pushes off on every play” and another categorizing the physical performer’s penalties as a product of his size. “It just looks extreme with him, because of size and strength. A 180-pound dude pushing off is different [than] a 260-pound dude pushing off,” the anonymous DC told Breer. Another coordinator falls in the middle of these characterizations, noting the Patriots’ volume of pick routes makes it logical they should be on the receiving end of the most OPI flags.
- With Tony Romo set for his age-36 season in 2016 and coming off more severe collarbone trouble, the Cowboys will explore taking a quarterback in the first round and signing a veteran, Breer reports. Romo being the starter for the foreseeable future gives the Cowboys some flexibility here by not having to reach for a player they don’t think can take the reins.
- The Los Angeles relocation project continues to point toward the Chargers and Rams, with Breer noting Dean Spanos carries the political capital in the owners’ eyes and Stan Kroenke possessing the finances to make this transition work.
- Bill O’Brien‘s cultivating a reputation as a players’ coach in leading the Texans, permitting open social media use and organizing a 12-player leadership council, Breer notes. Houston’s now tied for first in the AFC South with Indianapolis, but as far back as the Texans’ blowout loss in Miami in late October, players were behind O’Brien. “He’s not the problem. Very cool coach to play for and everyone enjoys the way he treats us,” one Texan told Breer after that 44-26 defeat.
- In projecting franchise tag figures for next year, Breer also gives predictions of players potentially being tagged. Moving past long-rumored names like Von Miller and Muhammad Wilkerson, NFL executives told Breer players like Josh Norman, Janoris Jenkins, Russell Okung, Mike Daniels and Kirk Cousins are tag candidates.
AFC Rumors: Titans, Revis, Collins, Broncos
On their third head coach in four years after employing just one during the previous 15, the Titans are working diligently to find a full-time replacement for the recently fired Ken Whisenhunt.
GM Ruston Webster, controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk and interim president/CEO Steve Underwood to find the team’s next coach as Mike Mularkey helms the Titans through another disappointing season.
“I’m working with Steve every day along those lines and also talking to Amy,” Webster told ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky. “I talked to her for a long time yesterday. Yeah, we’re right in the middle of it. Right now it’s mostly background work, building lists.”
Tennessee is 23-42 since their 9-7 season in 2011, Mike Munchak‘s first before he was fired after the 2013 campaign.
Webster told Kuharsky in working on this search he assumes he’ll be part of the power structure once a coach signs on.
Here are some other items coming from the AFC as Week 13 Sunday looms.
- With Darrelle Revis set to miss Sunday’s Jets-Giants game with a concussion, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News writes the 30-year-old All-Pro’s future isn’t as certain as people may think, considering he’s now suffered head injuries in each of his past four seasons. Revis sustained official concussions this season and in Sept. 2012 and missed time with concussion-like symptoms in December 2013 and in January of this year.
- Jets cornerback Marcus Williams‘ emergence points toward him ascending to the starting lineup full-time next season in place of Antonio Cromartie, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. Cimini expects the Jets to strongly considering cutting Cromartie after one season of a three-year deal, with the nine-year veteran having no dead money on his contract after this season. A second-year UDFA, Williams will make just $600K in 2016.
- Expected to return after a four-week absence, Patriots outside linebacker Jamie Collins provided little on the illness that sidelined him. “I was sick,” Collins told media, including Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. “That’s all I know. I was just feeling real bad. I don’t want to talk about it, bring up memories.” The athletic linebacker’s lack of interest in disclosing what was behind a mysterious absence falls in line with the Patriots’ M.O. That notwithstanding, New England figures to need his services now that it’s expected to be without Dont’a Hightower for a bit.
- The Broncos delaying their season-defining decision on whether to officially bench Peyton Manning should be put off as long as possible, Troy Renck of the Denver Post writes. Renck notes that while Osweiler’s inspired more confidence among his teammates than Brian Griese had when he was prematurely promoted in 1999, an injury or subsequent struggles from the career backup would make a Manning return awkward if the team had already declared him the backup.