Minor NFL Transactions: 8/4/15
Tonight’s minor moves..
- The Eagles waived/injured linebacker Travis Long, who tore his ACL yesterday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. If unclaimed, he’ll revert to the team’s IR list.
- The Patriots waived A.J. Derby, a sixth-round pick out of Arkansas, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.
- The Jets signed receiver Arthur Williams and waived receiver Jarrod West, as Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets.
- The Dolphins were awarded wide receiver Kevin Cone off waivers from the Browns, James Walker of ESPN.com tweets. They also cut guard Dionte Savage.
- The Patriots announced that they have signed linebacker L.J. Fort, linebacker Cameron Gordon, fullback Eric Kettani, and defensive lineman A.J. Pataiali’I.
- Panthers wide receiver Stephen Hill officially cleared waivers and has been placed on the team’s IR, Jonathan Jones of The Observer tweets.
- The Lions have filled their last roster spot with the signing of cornerback Ethan Davis out of Troy, Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com tweets.
- The Cardinals cut cornerback Damond Smith while signing cornerback Jonte Green, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweets.
- The Chargers announced that they signed corner Jordan Mabin and released receiver Demetrius Wilson.
- The Eagles announced that they released wide receiver Devante Davis while signing fellow wideout Josh Reese.
- The Lions cut Jerell Harris, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com tweets.
AFC East Notes: Gronk, Brady, Dolphins, Clay
Earlier this summer, an excerpt from Rob Gronkowski‘s autobiography revealed that the Patriots tight end claims he hasn’t spent a dime of his NFL salary, living off of endorsement money instead. As of July 30, Gronkowski has a little more NFL money to save up — according to Field Yates of ESPN.com, the Pats reworked their star tight end’s contract, converting $4MM of his $10MM end-of-year option bonus to a signing bonus. The option, which is due before the end of the league year, is now worth $6MM, and New England appears more likely than ever to exercise it.
Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap breaks down the unusual cap ramifications of the move, suggesting that the restructure should increase Gronkowski’s 2015 cap hit by $2MM before reducing his 2016 charge by $2MM. After that, the cap numbers for the rest of Gronkowski’s contract should remain the same.
Here’s more from around the AFC East:
- NFLPA executive George Atallah confirmed today (via Twitter) that Tom Brady and union reps will attend a conference in New York on August 12 to meet with the NFL and U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman. Roger Goodell will also attend the hearing in person, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com. Meanwhile, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe notes (via Twitter) that NFLPA and NFL attorneys had a telephone conference yesterday with Mag. Judge James C. Francis regarding the Patriots quarterback’s case.
- Appearing on the Jose Rose Show on 560 WQAM in Miami, Dolphins VP of football operations Mike Tannenbaum didn’t rule out pursuing free agent guard Evan Mathis, as Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post details. The Dolphins’ interest in Mathis has been downplayed recently, but I imagine they’d be very interested if one of their current guards struggles or suffers an injury.
- Having brought in Rex Ryan, LeSean McCoy, Percy Harvin, and Richie Incognito over the offseason, the Bills made plenty of newsworthy moves. However, no player received more guaranteed money from the team this year than tight end Charles Clay. Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News examines how Clay is fitting in so far in Buffalo.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/3/15
Today’s minor moves and signings in the NFL..
- Cowboys linebackers Justin Anderson and guard Reshod Fortenberry were waived/injured, Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram tweets. Linebackers Jonathan Brown and Ka’Lial Glaud were signed.
- The Patriots have agreed to bring back second-year linebacker Cameron Gordon to address some depth concerns, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. The Patriots also announced that they have claimed guard Harland Gunn off waivers from the Falcons.
- The Chiefs announced that they have signed former Missouri wide receiver L’Damian Washington.
- The Patriots waived-injured Kevin Hughes and cut Vince Taylor with a failed physical designation, Wilson tweets.
- The Packers announced that they have signed wide receiver Ed Williams.
- The Cowboys waived-injured Justin Jackson, who tore his ACL over the weekend, Wilson tweets.
- The Broncos signed wideout Corbin Louks, Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post tweets. Louks, who was cut by the Chiefs in May, will fill the roster spot previously filled by Kyle Williams, who has hit the IR.
- The Chargers signed former Packers defensive tackle Luther Robinson, Wilson tweets.
- The Browns announced that they have signed running backs Timothy Flanders and Jalen Parmele and waived wide receiver Kevin Cone and defensive back Brandon Stephens, Nate Ulrich of the Beacon Journal tweets.
- The Bills have signed free agent cornerback Merrill Noel, according to Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (on Twitter). Noel was released by Buffalo back in June.
Earlier Updates:
- The Chiefs waived backup defensive tackle Jerel Worthy, as Blair Kerkhoff of The Kansas City Star tweets. Worthy signed a futures deal with KC back in December. Worthy, a 2012 second-round pick out of Michigan State, tore his ACL in the final game of the 2012 season and played only 12 snaps in 2013. Worthy was traded from the Packers to the Pats in August of 2014 but he did not get on the field last season.
- The Eagles signed rookie free agent wide receiver Mike Johnson, Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The Delaware product participated in the Eagles rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis and, apparently, he impressed the right people.
- Linebacker/defensive end Austen Lane, who had stints with the Jaguars, Lions, and Bears, took to Twitter to announce his retirement.
AFC East Notes: Brady, Jets, Richardson
Albert Breer of NFL Media (on Twitter) hears that the parties in the August 12th Tom Brady settlement conference may be able to participate by phone, but that they’ll have to present a good reason for doing so. Mike Florio of PFT, a former lawyer, advises that Brady get himself to Manhattan as a sign of respect to the federal judge. Florio writes that not flying to Manhattan alone won’t mean a loss in court for Brady, but it could affect the proceedings in other ways. Here’s more from the AFC East..
- The Jets obviously can’t get much for him now, but Sheldon Richardson could be a valuable trade piece after the 2015 season, Darryl Slater of the Star-Ledger writes. The final year of Richardson’s rookie deal is in 2016, but he can be kept under control through 2017 with a fifth-year option at a relatively cheap rate. For now, the Jets will have to wait and see if Richardon’s four-game suspension for marijuana is about to balloon into something bigger after last week’s bizarre incident.
- Veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick has virtually no chance of overtaking Geno Smith for the Jets‘ starting QB job this summer, Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post writes. Of course, if Smith falters for the first few weeks of the season, the door will be open for the Harvard product.
- Calvin Pryor didn’t impress in his rookie season with the Jets, but a position change could be the key to unlocking his potential, Brian Costello of the New York Post writes. The Louisville product is now playing strong safety instead of free safety, which means that he can concentrate on laying down the big hits.
- In the battle of Patriots QB vs. Roger Goodell, Gary Tanguay of CSNNE.com feels that the law is on the side of the commissioner, which is why Brady should take a settlement on his suspension, if possible.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/1/2015
Here are Saturday’s minor transactions from around the NFL:
- Wide receiver Cobi Hamilton, who was cut by the Bengals earlier this week to make room for Greg Little, was claimed off waivers by the Dolphins, tweets Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Miami waived another wideout, Kai De La Cruz, just three days after signing him in order to clear room on the roster for Hamilton.
- The Giants created two roster openings today by waiving two players with injury designations. Per Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News (via Twitter), tight end Matt LaCosse (hamstring) and defensive end Brad Harrah (quad) were cut.
- The Vikings have a full roster again after signing wide receiver Ryan Whalen, a former sixth-round pick, tweets Master Tesfatsion of the Star Tribune.
- The Jets cut fullback J.C. Copeland today after a poor showing in practice, according to Connor Hughes of the Journal Inquirer and Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Earlier updates:
- A sixth running back is coming to the Eagles, with rookie free agent Kevin Monangai signing with the team, per Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. Monangai starred at Villanova, scoring 29 career touchdowns in four years with the Division I-FCS Wildcats.
- The Patriots‘ roster stands at 87 players following the cutting of cornerback Justin Green and linebacker D.J. Lynch, reports WEEI’s Mike Petraglia. Green signed with New England as an undrafted free agent in 2013, playing in two games since, with practice squad time in between. Lynch came to the Pats this offseason as a rookie free agent from Bowling Green.
- The Bills‘ roster now sits at 89 players after the team claimed Terren Jones off waivers from the Titans, ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak reports, on Twitter. An undrafted free agent who signed with the Falcons in 2013, the 6-foot-7, 341-pound Jones becomes the fifth offensive tackle on Buffalo’s roster. He’s spent time with the Titans, Ravens and Washington, playing in one game in two seasons.
- To clear space for wideout Trent Steelman, the Ravens cut quarterback Jerry Lovelocke, according to CSNBaltimore.com’s Clifton Brown (Twitter link). Levelocke came to the Ravens as an undrafted free agent in May from Prairie View A&M. A former Army quarterback, Steelman will vie for a roster or practice squad spot at wide receiver. Eligible for the 2013 draft and a participant in the Ravens’ rookie minicamp that year, Steelman was released from active duty in Dec. 2014 in order to pursue an NFL career.
- The Falcons swapped out one offensive lineman for another, in signing Pierce Burton and waiving Harland Gunn, per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). The Vikings originally signed Burton as an undrafted free agent last offseason, while Gunn played in 13 games for Atlanta from 2012-14 after signing there as an undrafted rookie in 2012.
- Washington signed rookie cornerback Deshazor Everett and released fellow first-year player Dasman McCullum, a linebacker, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post (on Twitter). Everett is an undrafted product from Texas A&M and will serve as secondary depth while Bashaud Breeland recovers from a torn MCL.
- The Cowboys signed Will Smith, a linebacker taken by the team in the seventh round of the 2014 draft before spending his rookie campaign on Dallas’ practice squad, per David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter).
Patriots Release Derek Cox
The Patriots’ spree of cutting ties with cornerbacks continued Saturday, with the team parting ways with veteran Derek Cox, according to Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com.
A starter in 56 of the 63 regular-season games in which he’s played, Cox signed with New England in June after the Ravens cut him in Sept. 2014. Cox has sufficient service time to avoid waivers.
The third-round pick out of William & Mary by the Jaguars in 2009 has experienced an inconsistent career, with his only positive overall review from Pro Football Focus (subscription required) coming in 2011 in Jacksonville. Cox’s fortunes have taken a turn for the worse since signing a four-year, $20MM deal with the Chargers in 2013. He started 11 games for the Bolts that year before being released after playing just one season with the team.
Cox spent parts of 2014 with the Vikings and Ravens without accruing any game action.
New England did reach an agreement with Tarell Brown last week but remains thin on the flanks after losing Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, Kyle Arrington and Alfonzo Dennard this offseason. Logan Ryan, Bradley Fletcher, Robert McClain and Malcolm Butler and possibly Brown figure to be in the running for the Pats’ top corner spots.
East Notes: Pats, Jets, Mathis, Goldson
As our first weekend of 2015 training camp action is upon us, let’s look at some of the matters emerging from the Eastern divisions.
- Adding to last night’s report of an August 12 conference involving Tom Brady and Roger Goodell, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes the transcript from Brady’s June appeal hearing with Goodell will become available if the case isn’t settled. Florio views Judge Richard M. Berman’s action of getting directly involved in trying to settle this case quickly one of the more active attempts by a judge to do so in his extensive law history. The PFT scribe notes that Berman probably already knows which way he’ll rule should both sides indeed join him for this summit as opposed to settling this matter beforehand.
- The Patriots are not observing the latest Deflategate-related directive to tone it down, as Florio notes, and instead have launched a website aimed at uncovering what they believe is misinformation in the Ted Wells report. The first post on a site titled WellsReportcontext.com shows a chain of emails between Patriots general counsel Robyn Glaser and NFL general counsel Jeff Pash. While this means more Deflategate coverage more than six months after the story surfaced, it looks to now at least have created a job for a Patriots IT staffer.
- Evan Mathis‘ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has engaged in preliminary talks with the Jets, reports Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter link) after speaking with Jets GM Mike Maccagnan. “We’ve had talks with Evan’s agent,” Maccagnan said, according to Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News. “They’re kind of getting a feel for where – they have a range for where they want to be. The other thing with a lot of teams honestly at this point in time, you almost want to kind of see what you have first to a certain degree.” The former All-Pro would certainly be an upgrade over Willie Colon, who’s battled a knee ailment all offseason before coming off the PUP list Saturday. Tasch, however, adds Nothing is imminent, with Mathis — who was slated to make $5.5MM with the Eagles this season before his release — searches for significant money. Gang Green has $5.5MM in cap room, per OverTheCap.
- Shortly after Rod Graves vacated his spot in the Jets’ front office to take a job with the league office, the Jets will replace him as director of football administration with Jacqueline Davidson, according to Randy Lange of NewYorkJets.com. Joining Cardinals assistant Jen Welter, Raiders play-by-play voice Beth Mowins and newly appointed official Sarah Thomas as one of the highest-ranking women in the league, Davidson already serves as the Jets’ lead negotiator in player contracts and played a key role in the Jets’ reacquiring of Darrelle Revis.
- Washington safety Dashon Goldson, as part of the renegotiated contract upon his trade from the Bucs, received a $2.3MM roster bonus today, per ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter).
Latest On DeflateGate
U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman, who will decide whether to uphold the NFL’s four-game suspension of Tom Brady, has scheduled an Aug. 12 conference that will include both Brady and commissioner Roger Goodell, the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin tweeted. If the dispute isn’t settled then, the parties will meet again Aug. 19 for oral arguments, according to Gabe Feldman of the sports law program at Tulane University (Twitter link). Feldman tweeted that while Berman’s ruling will be subject to appeal, the process is moving extremely quickly and a decision will be made well before the season starts.
For his part, Brady filed his counterclaim Friday in the Southern District of New York, per Volin (via Twitter) – who gleaned from Brady’s lawsuit that he wanted his June 23 appeal to be done under oath (Twitter link).
Meanwhile, two owners told ESPN’s Jim Trotter that they’re unhappy with both the amount of money being spent on Brady’s case and the treatment of Brady, Trotter tweeted. The owners also told Trotter that a “molehill has been made into a mountain,” and said it never should’ve gotten to this point (Twitter link). They reiterated Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s point that lawyers are too involved in the process.
The reason the Brady case has gotten so ugly, according to Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole (video link), stems from discord between the league and the NFLPA dating back to the fight over the 2011 collective bargaining agreement – a fight the owners ultimately won. Given that outcome, NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith has to “fight tool and nail on every issue possible,” Cole said. Further, per Cole, owners are beginning to wonder if taking some power from the commissioner and switching to an independent appeal process would be better for disciplinary matters.
AFC East Notes: Richardson, Brady, Dareus
Tim Lohmar, the prosecuting attorney in Sheldon Richardson‘s case, didn’t feel he could get a conviction on a charge of child endangerment, and only charged the Jets defensive lineman with resisting arrest and traffic violations, writes Brian Costello of the New York Post. Lohmar also couldn’t bring any drug charges against Richardson, despite his car smelling freshly burned marijuana, as he explains to Costello.
“The odor, according to the officer, was such that it was a fresh odor. The weed had just burned,” Lohmar said. “I think you can reasonably assume that had been taking place while they were driving and somewhere between that and the time they were pulled over, whatever was in the car was thrown from the car. We don’t know that, obviously.”
Given the lack of drug charges, the incident may not technically be a violation of the league’s drug policy, though that’s not certain, a source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com. Despite the lack of serious charges against Richardson, the NFL will conduct its own investigation and could penalize the Jets defender harshly based on the violation of the league’s personal conduct policy.
However the case plays out, Richardson embarrassed himself and the Jets by trying to hide his arrest, writes Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com.
Here’s more from around the AFC East:
- The NFLPA and NFL have requested an expedited schedule in the Tom Brady case, which would avoid the need for preliminary injunction and would give both sides more certainty, per Gabe Feldman (Twitter links). As Feldman explains (via Twitter), the league and the union agree that “no discovery is needed to adjudicate the motions” and proposed a schedule that would involve filing their motions by August 7, replying by August 14, then making their oral arguments and getting a decision before the start of the NFL regular season. The proposal could set the stage for a settlement between the two sides, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
- General manager Doug Whaley said today that his Bills have “exchanged proposals” with Marcell Dareus regarding a new contract, cautioning that “these things take time” (Twitter link via Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News).
- While the Dolphins have been the team most frequently linked to free agent guard Evan Mathis, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets that he has it “on good authority” that the club hasn’t even begun speaking to Drew Rosenhaus about a contract for his client. Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports noted yesterday (via Twitter) that the Dolphins’ interest in Mathis had been overstated.
- Although he showed up for the Jets‘ training camp, Muhammad Wilkerson admits that it’s “a little frustrating” not to have a new contract in place yet, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com. Wilkerson remains hopeful that the two sides can get something done before the season begins.
AFC Notes: Brady, Weddle, Lewis, Kromer
A U.S. District Court judge ordered the NFL and NFLPA to try to resolve their differences over Tom Brady‘s suspension without litigation, as ESPN.com writes. Of course, it seems unlikely that the two sides will peacefully resolve the conflict regarding the Patriots quarterback. Here’s more from the AFC..
- Chargers safety Eric Weddle says that he will not hold out from camp but added that he believes this will be his last year with the team, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets. Weddle and the Bolts have been embroiled in a contract dispute all offseason and there has been no sign of the two compromising on an extension.
- Bengals coach Marvin Lewis wants to win a Super Bowl this season and “walk away” afterwards to leave the game on top, Paul Daugherty of The Cincinnati Enquirer writes.
- Bills offensive line coach Aaron Kromer entered a written plea of not guilty in a Florida court, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. Kromer is scheduled for a September 2nd pre-trial hearing.