Minor NFL Transactions: 8/4/21
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OT Ryan Pope
Atlanta Falcons
- Reverted to IR after clearing waivers: P Sterling Hofrichter
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Michael Dereus
- Waived: DL Chauncey Rivers
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: OL Caleb Benenoch
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: WR Doug Middleton
- Waived: FB Mason Stokke
Chicago Bears
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Eddie Goldman, LB Christian Jones, LS Patrick Scales, OT Elijah Wilkinson
Denver Broncos
- Signed: CB Saivion Smith
- Waived/injured: OT Cody Conway; Conway suffered a torn ACL
Detroit Lions
- Released: LB Reggie Gilbert
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from active/PUP list: TE Josiah Deguara
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: OL Jeremiah Poutasi
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: G Jamil Demby
- Signed: G Jeremiah Kolone
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: CB Adonis Alexander
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Andy Jones, TE Tommy Stevens
- Placed on IR: RB Mike Weber
New York Jets
- Waived/injured: S Brandon White
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Placed on IR: DB DeMarkus Acy; Acy suffered a torn ACL
- Waived/injured: OT Anthony Coyle
Joe Looney Retires From NFL
The Giants are sending players into retirement left and right. Just a few days after signing with New York, veteran linebacker Todd Davis elected to retire. Now offensive lineman Joe Looney is doing the same.
Looney will retire from the NFL as well, a source told Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’s another puzzling turn of events, as Looney only signed with the team on July 31st. He started practicing right away, and was reportedly getting plenty of reps. An interior lineman who can play both guard and center, Looney is still only 30 so he should have plenty left in the tank physically.
His signing with the Giants was a reunion of sorts, as Looney played under current Giants OC Jason Garrett in Dallas. A fourth-round pick of the 49ers in 2012, Looney spent his first three seasons in San Francisco. He was a 16-game starter for the Cowboys in 2018, then hit the bench in 2019, and then started 12 games last season at center.
The initial expectation from Giants beat writers was that he would compete for a starting job, but apparently his heart was elsewhere. Assuming he’s really done, the Wake Forest product will hang up his cleats with 104 career appearances and 42 starts under his belt.
Todd Davis Retires From NFL
Todd Davis signed with the Giants just a few days ago. But, on Tuesday, he decided to call it a career. The Giants have placed the veteran linebacker on the reserved/retired list, per a club announcement. In a related move, the Giants have placed wide receiver Derrick Dillon on the injured reserve list.
Davis entered the league in 2014 as an unheralded prospect out of Sacramento State. The UDFA carved out a heck of a career for himself, once the Broncos claimed him off waivers from the Saints midway through his rookie year. He went on to play a significant role on the Broncos team that won Super Bowl 50 and became a full-time starter the following year in 2016.
“We’re really looking forward to getting him on the field. He just signed with us, so we’re excited about that and he’ll come in and compete with the other linebackers at his position and work through his defensive responsibilities, as well as his role in the kicking game,” head coach Joe Judge said just the other day. “Got to meet with him today, sit down face to face and have a good conversation, liked his energy. I’ve known him as a player in the league for some time but made a good first impression personality-wise and I’m excited to get him on the field.”
From 2016-19, Davis started at least 14 games at inside linebacker in four straight seasons. In his final Denver year, he notched a career-high 134 tackles despite missing two contests. During that stretch, Davis inked a three-year, $15MM deal, but only made it through two years of that pact.
Davis leaves the NFL with 505 tackles, 23 TFL, three sacks, 15 passes defensed, and one interception in 96 career games. We here at PFR wish him the best in retirement.
Giants Sign Alfred Morris
It’s official. On Monday morning, the Giants formally welcomed Alfred Morris back to the team. It’s likely a low-cost, one-year deal for the veteran running back.
Morris is now one contract shy of completing the NFC East cycle — perhaps he can hook on with the Eagles next year. For now, he’ll provide the Giants with some much-needed insurance as they monitor Saquon Barkley‘s availability. Barkley’s still working his way back from a torn ACL, leaving the Giants with Morris, Devontae Booker, Elijhaa Penny, Gary Brightwell, Corey Clement, Sandro Platzgummer, and Mike Weber as their active RBs.
In 2020, Morris totaled 238 yards on 55 carries for the Giants. His most notable game came against Washington in November — 67 yards off of nine-totes.
All in all, Morris has 6,000+ yards to his credit over nine seasons with the Giants, Cowboys, Washington, 49ers, and Cardinals.
Giants Met With Austin Reiter
The Giants brought in a veteran O-lineman yesterday, signing 30-year-old blocker Joe Looney. Yesterday morning, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reported that free agent center Austin Reiter was expected to visit with Big Blue “in the coming days” (Twitter link).
However, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that Reiter has already met with the Giants, and that the Looney acquisition has closed the door on a Reiter signing, at least for the time being. Looney could supplant Nick Gates at the pivot, thereby shifting Gates to guard, or he could serve as guard depth himself. With Reiter having worked almost exclusively at center in his career, it would certainly seem that there is no room for him with the Giants at this point.
A seventh-round pick of the Washington Football Team in 2016, Reiter eventually caught on with the Chiefs and settled into a role as Patrick Mahomes‘ snapper over the past two seasons. But Kansas City let him hit the open market this offseason and then added Austin Blythe in free agency and Creed Humphrey in the draft. Reiter has recently met with the Bengals and Texans, so he could be on the verge of finding a new home even without the Giants in the picture.
In other Giants OL news, left guard Shane Lemieux recently sustained a knee injury that will sideline him for a couple of weeks. Luckily, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, the second-year pro will not require surgery and should be on track for the start of the regular season. Given that Lemieux was carted off the field when he suffered the injury, that comes as a big relief for New York.
Giants Sign Todd Davis
The Giants signed interior offensive lineman Joe Looney to a contract on Saturday, and they also added another longtime vet. New York inked free agent linebacker Todd Davis to a contract, the team announced in a release.
Davis worked out for the Giants earlier this week, and they apparently liked what they saw. The unheralded Sacramento State product started out as an UDFA in 2014, and carved out a heck of a career for himself. After starting his career with the Saints he was claimed off waivers by the Broncos midway through his rookie season, and quickly established himself in Denver.
He played a real role on the Broncos team that won Super Bowl 50, and became a full-time starter the following year in 2016. From 2016-19, he started at least 14 games at inside linebacker in four straight seasons. Davis was released two years into the three-year $15MM deal that he signed in March of 2018.
He latched on with the Vikings last September, and appeared in 11 games with six starts for Minnesota. Always a run defender first and foremost, Davis turned 29 in May. The Giants currently have a pretty young linebacking group, so Davis will provide some veteran leadership right off the bat.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/31/21
We’ve got a bunch of minor moves to report from what turned out to be a pretty busy Saturday in the NFL:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: LB Tuzar Skipper
Cleveland Browns
- Placed on reserve/retired list: WR Derrick Willies
Houston Texans
- Signed: OL Danny Isidora
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: QB Brett Hundley, DT Joey Ivie
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: WR Tevin Jones
- Cut: LB Leon Jacobs, K Aldrick Rosas
New England Patriots
- Signed: OL Jerald Hawkins
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Damion Willis
New York Jets
- Signed: K Matt Ammendola
- Cut: K Sam Ficken
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: QB Sean Mannion
Washington Football Team
- Claimed off waivers from Dolphins: OL Ross Reynolds
Hundley is the biggest signing on this list. The Colts adding him is a pretty good sign they expect Carson Wentz to miss some significant time. Assuming Wentz misses games, Hundley will battle it out with second-year pro Jacob Eason.
A couple of kickers who have started a bunch of games both found themselves sent packing in Ficken and Rosas. Mannion latched on with the Seahawks. He’s familiar with new Seattle OC Shane Waldron from their time together with the Rams, explaining why the Seahawks added him as an option behind Russell Wilson.
Giants To Sign Joe Looney
Joe Looney and Jason Garrett are getting back together. The Giants are signing the veteran offensive lineman, a source told Mike Garafolo of NFL Network (Twitter link).
Garrett, now the Giants’ offensive coordinator, was Looney’s head coach for several years in Dallas. As Garafolo points out, Looney almost signed with New York last offseason before he ended up back with the Cowboys on a one-year deal. He ended up starting 12 games in Dallas last season. Originally a fourth-round pick of the 49ers in 2012, Looney spent his first three seasons in San Francisco.
Cut before 2015 he latched on with the Titans before signing with the Cowboys in 2016, with whom he would spend the next five years. He was a reserve in 2016 and 2017, then a 16-game starter in 2018, then hit the bench again in 2019.
It’s unclear what exact role the Giants envision for him. New York currently has Nick Gates slated to start at center, although Dan Duggan of The Athletic tweets that he thinks it’s possible the team could switch Gates to guard if they think Looney will give them a better starting five in the trenches. Looney also has played a lot of guard in the past. Either way, it’s a decent depth signing this late in the process as Looney has a good amount of starting experience and familiarity with Garrett’s offense.
Giants Work Out OL Evan Boehm
The Giants are looking for some offensive line help. Veteran NFL reporter Aaron Wilson reports (via Twitter) that the team recently met with veteran offensive lineman Evan Boehm.
Boehm has played both center and offensive guard throughout his career, a pair of positions that appear to be accounted for on the Giants. Nick Gates and Jonotthan Harrison lead the depth chart at center, while Shane Lemieux and Will Hernandez are in line to start at guard. However, Harrison is currently on the team’s active/PUP list, and Lemieux was carted off the field during Giants practice today. While it was apparent that the 25-year-old suffered some kind of knee injury, we haven’t learned of an official diagnosis, and there’s a chance he could be sidelined for some time.
So, it appears that the Giants are hunting for some reinforcement at the position, even if it’s temporary. Boehm would certainly be a worthy candidate despite his journeyman status. The offensive lineman has spent time with six different teams through five seasons, but he’s also managed to see time in 55 career games (21 starts). That included a 2019 campaign where he started eight of his 13 games for the Dolphins.
The 27-year-old joined the Bills last offseason, and he spent the first month-plus of the season on the team’s practice squad. He later caught on with the Jaguars practice squad, where he’d remain for the rest of the season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/29/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: OT Kelvin Beachum, G Deion Calhoun, WR Rico Gafford, C Rodney Hudson, WR Andy Isabella, WR KeeSean Johnson, G Justin Pugh
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Jordan Veasy
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: CB Holton Hill, DT Joey Ivie
Las Vegas Raiders
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: RB Jalen Richard, RB Theo Riddick
- Signed: RB B.J. Emmons, RB Darius Jackson
- Placed on NFI list: RB Kenyan Drake
New Orleans Saints
- Placed on NFI list: K Wil Lutz, CB P.J. Williams
New York Giants
- Released from IR with injury settlement: RB Taquan Mizzell
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: S Obi Melifonwu
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: OT Chidi Okeke
- Waived: OT Calvin Ashley
Tennessee Titans
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: LB Bud Dupree; Dupree remains on Tennessee’s active/PUP list as well
Washington Football Team
- Placed on reserve/COVID-19 list: DT Matt Ioannidis, CB Chris Miller, WR Curtis Samuel
- Signed: TE Nick Guggemos, LB Justus Reed