Giants Place Owa Odighizuwa On IR-DTR
The Giants have become the 23rd NFL team to use their IR-DTR slot this season, announcing today in a press release that they’ve placed defensive end Owa Odighizuwa on injured reserve with the designation to return. The move ensures that Odighizuwa won’t be eligible to practice for six weeks and will have to miss eight weeks of games, meaning he’ll be eligible to return for Week 17.
Odighizuwa, 23, was selected by the Giants in the third round of the 2015 draft, but hasn’t seen the field much in his rookie season. Appearing in four games, Odighizuwa has recorded three tackles, and will now be sidelined for most of the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.
To fill the roster spot vacated by Odighizuwa, the Giants have promoted tight end Jerome Cunningham to their 53-man roster. With Larry Donnell unlikely to play this weekend, the Giants needed to add an extra tight end to their roster to complement rookie Will Tye, who is currently the only healthy player at the position for the team.
Although the Giants’ 53-man squad is full again for now, the club may need to make another cut later this week, with Jason Pierre-Paul aiming to return to action for Sunday’s game against the Bucs.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/4/15
Here are Wednesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL, updated throughout the day:
Baltimore Ravens
- Cut: TE Konrad Reuland (Twitter link via team)
Buffalo Bills
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: CB Brandon Dixon (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of the New Orleans Times-Picayune)
New York Giants
- Cut: G Adam Gettis (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News)
New York Jets
- Signed: WR Shane Wynn (Twitter link via Brian Costello of the New York Post)
- Cut: FB Julian Howsare
San Diego Chargers
- Signed: DE Ben Gardner (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: LB Quayshawn Nealy, DE Ronald Powell (press release via team)
NFC Notes: JPP, Bradford, 49ers, Megatron
Jason Pierre-Paul is practicing for the Giants, and while the team had initially been eyeing a Week 10 showdown with the undefeated Patriots as a target date for JPP’s return to the field, it sounds like he could play in Week 9 against the Buccaneers (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News).
As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (via Twitter), Pierre-Paul’s one-year deal with the Giants was set up to be based on seven weeks’ worth of playing-time incentives and per-game roster bonuses. However, if JPP makes his season debut this weekend, he would have eight weeks to try to earn those bonuses and incentives.
As we wait to see if Pierre-Paul is activated for the Giants’ next game, let’s round up some more odds and ends from across the NFC….
- If the Eagles offered Sam Bradford a four-year contract extension at some point, it sounds like that’s news to him, as the veteran quarterback told reporters today (Twitter link via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer). “That offer must have gotten lost in the mail,” Bradford said.
- Colin Kaepernick likely hasn’t started his last game for the 49ers, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), who says that the team hopes to get the quarterback back on the field in the second half, believing he has too much talent to simply give up on him. While the Niners may feel that way today, continued ineffectiveness from Kaepernick down the stretch could result in him being traded or even released in the offseason.
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap, writing for The Sporting News, sounds more skeptical that Kaepernick will see much playing time during the remainder of the 2015 season, and suggests the 49ers will likely find a way to move on from their quarterback in the offseason.
- Asked if he asked the Lions to consider moving him prior to the trade deadline, wide receiver Calvin Johnson replied that he hasn’t thought about anything like that, according to Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. “No, I haven’t got to a point where I’ve said that,” Johnson said. “I’m just always trying to play ball. I love my teammates, so that hasn’t crossed my mind.”
- Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane is on track to return to practice next Monday after spending the season’s first nine weeks on the physically unable to perform list, writes Curtis Crabtree of Pro Football Talk. Lane’s return to practice would begin a three-week clock for the Seahawks to either move him to the active roster or shut him down for the year.
NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Giants, Curry
Having waived running back Joseph Randle this week, the Cowboys parted ways with a player who had been expected to pick up a good chunk of DeMarco Murray‘s carries this season. Still, as Schuyler Dixon of The Associated Press details, Randle’s disappointing 2015 campaign isn’t making Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones second-guess the decision to let Murray walk in free agency back in March.
“That ship’s sailed,” Stephen Jones said. “We’d make that decision over, same decision, we’d make it again. We have to develop, structure a football team with the salary cap. You can’t pay a top receiver, a top quarterback, a top pass rusher, a top left tackle. You’ve got to make hard decisions.”
As the Cowboys prepare to move on with Darren McFadden and Christine Michael leading their rushing attack, let’s check in on a few more items from around the NFC East….
- With the Cowboys‘ top decision-makers insisting they have genuine interest in locking up Greg Hardy to a extension, former agent Joel Corry of CBSSports.com breaks down three possible contract structures that would somewhat limit the risk for the team.
- Like every other team in the NFL, the Giants ultimately stood pat on Tuesday as the trade deadline came and went. According to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com, that was the right call for the club, which he feels is ultimately a “rebuilding team” in the big picture. As such, it wouldn’t have made sense for New York to move future draft picks.
- Vinny Curry had his name circulated in trade rumors over the last few days, but Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said the defensive end wasn’t discussed in trade talks. As Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes, Curry is used to the trade speculation surrounding him, and was unfazed by it this week.
Workout Notes: Patriots, Texans, Chargers
The latest workouts from around the NFL:
- The Titans worked out quarterback Christian Ponder, according to Terry McCormick of TitanInsider (Twitter links). The team also auditioned linebacker Yannik Cudjoe Virgil plus tight ends Michael Egnew, Kevin Greene, Connor Hamlett, and Ryan Taylor.
- The Patriots worked out tight end Cameron Clear, kicker Garrett Hartley, punter Will Johnson, punter Cody Mandell, long snapper Tyler Ott, cornerback Garry Peters, kicker Matt Wile, and long snapper Christian Yount, Wilson tweets.
- The Texans worked out running back Cyrus Gray, center Josh Allen, center Dalton Freeman, center Eric Kush, guard Jacques McClendon, and center Daniel Munyer, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
- The Chargers are working out former Eastern Washington offensive tackle Jake Rodgers today, according to a source who spoke with Wilson (on Twitter).
- Slot wide receiver Damaris Johnson is working out for the Jets today, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter) adds Jarrett Boykin, Aldrick Robinson, and Greg Salas to that list. The Jets also worked out tight end David Ausberry, a source tells ESPNNewYork.com’s Rich Cimini (on Twitter).
- The Bills worked out running back Mike Gillislee and defensive backs Jocquel Skinner and Robert Steeples, Wilson tweets.
- The 49ers also worked out Gillislee, Wilson tweets.
- The 49ers worked out former Texans linebacker Lynden Trail and ex-Chargers corner Chris Davis, Wilson tweets. Davis, 24, signed with the Bolts in 2014 as a UDFA out of Auburn. The Chargers cut Davis on September 1st.
- The Colts worked out offensive guards Ben Heenan and Donald Thomas on Saturday, Wilson tweets. Indianapolis also brought in linebacker Josh Martin for a visit, Wilson adds.
- Tight ends James Casey and Adrien Robinson worked out for the Giants on Tuesday, sources tell Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger (via Twitter).
- The Ravens worked out wide receivers Joe Morgan and Chuck Jacobs along with quarterback Chase Rettig, as Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com tweets.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/3/15
Here are Tuesday’s practice squad moves from across the league:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: WR C.J. Goodwin (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com)
- Cut: WR LaRon Byrd (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post)
Baltimore Ravens
- To be signed: Chuck Jacobs (via The Baltimore Sun)
Buffalo Bills
- Cut: RB Miguel Maysonet (Twitter link via team)
Denver Broncos
- Signed: S Ryan Murphy (link via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post)
- Cut: DT Deandre Coleman
Houston Texans
- Cut: RB Daryl Richardson (via Wilson)
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: G Ben Heenan (Twitter link via team)
- Cut: G David Arkin
New Orleans Saints
- Cut: DB Sammy Seamster (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune)
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Matt LaCosse (Twitter link via Paul Schwartz of the New York Post), S Cooper Taylor (Twitter link via Dan Graziano of ESPN.com)
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Shelby Harris (Twitter link via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle)
San Diego Chargers
- Signed: RB Dreamius Smith (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune), OLB Ryan Mueller (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego)
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Chris Davis (press release via team)
- Removed: DL Kaleb Ramsey (suspended four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances)
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: TE Rashaun Allen (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Cut: LB Julian Stanford (press release via team)
Chargers Deny Shopping Eric Weddle
10:27pm: A Chargers spokesman has reached out to Florio to deny that the team is shopping Weddle, suggesting there’s “absolutely no truth” to those rumors. Still, PFT’s original source still insists that San Diego is indeed shopping the safety, and it doesn’t make sense that the club would want to hang onto him at all costs, considering he’s set to test the free agent market this winter.
9:16pm: The Giants are among four NFL teams to express interest in Weddle, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets.
8:09pm: The Chargers are shopping safety Eric Weddle, a league source tells Mike Florio of PFT. Weddle is earning $7.5MM in the final year of his contract.
The three-time Pro Bowler skipped the voluntary portion of the offseason this summer while locked in a contract dispute with the team. Weddle is the fourth-highest paid safety in terms of total compensation in 2015 but he was seeking a new deal with his 31st birthday coming up in January 2016. After the Chargers held their ground, Weddle made it known that he would turn his attention to free agency after the season.
As the Chargers sit at 2-6, it only makes sense that they would explore a deal for Weddle rather than lose him in the offseason. However, the Chargers could also hang on to the veteran and net a compensatory draft pick for him in the spring. For that reason, the Bolts can’t be expected to part with Weddle for cheap.
Weddle has been the Chargers’ starting safety since 2008 and he did not miss a regular season start from 2009 through 2014. In 2014, Weddle racked up 114 total tackles to go along with eight pass deflections and an interception. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) rated the three-time Pro Bowler as the best overall safety in the NFL last season with a +18.9 overall grade.
The safety is nursing a groin injury but it’s only a minor setback and he’s already sprinting again, according to NFL.com’s Rand Getlin (on Twitter).
NFC Rumors: Johnson, JPP, Gurley, Curry
One of the biggest surprises in the league this season may extend for a potential encore. The Cardinals are discussing an extension for Chris Johnson, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports. Although no deal is imminent, both sides discussed the issue this week. Johnson’s playing on a one-year contract he signed in August. Signed to an $870K deal with no guarantees, the 30-year-old Johnson ranks second in the league with 567 rushing yards.
Let’s take a look at what else is transpiring around the NFC before Week 8’s early tilts kick off.
- Jason Pierre-Paul has a chance to play next week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Giants are reportedly open to it. They rank 31st in the NFL with nine sacks thus far. Pierre-Paul can earn $50K for each half-sack he records in an incentive-laden contract and will receive $8.7MM if he can reach 10 in the Giants’ remaining nine games. The sixth-year veteran’s only recorded double-digit sacks in two seasons.
- The 49ers have discussed Alex Boone, Joe Staley and Vernon Davis (Twitter link) with teams, but CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora hears (Twitter link) that Staley is considered the most available. The 31-year-old Staley’s in the middle of a six-year, $44.65MM contract and has cap numbers of $8.3MM and $11.2MM the next two seasons. Staley’s deal runs through 2019.
- Eagles fourth-year defensive end Vinny Curry‘s surfaced in trade discussions, Schefter reports (as relayed by Andrew Kulp of CSNPhilly.com). A 6-foot-3, 279-pound tweener in a 3-4 scheme, Curry could have value as a 4-3 end. He’s in the final year of his rookie deal and likely to depart the Eagles after the season, Kulp writes. The CSNPhilly reporter notes the best the Eagles could get for Curry, who has never started a game but recorded nine sacks off the bench last season, is a mid-round pick.
- Rams GM Les Snead‘s paranoia over whether one of the team’s NFC West rivals would take Todd Gurley invited him to act quickly during the draft, Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times reports. Snead was concerned about the 49ers or Cardinals drafting the potential NFC rookie of the year, so the team’s interest in the Georgia star remained a mystery. “I definitely was excited when they took me at No. 10. I was kind of shocked. They really kept it quiet,” Gurley told Farmer. “I know when they do those visits to do background checks back home, one of my high school coaches was like, ‘Yeah, the Rams came by,’ and I’m like, ‘They’re not going to take me.'”
- NFL executives peg Robert Griffin III‘s trade value as minimal, considering his fifth-year $16.2MM option that is guaranteed against injury, and are more inclined to let Washington release the beleaguered signal-caller, Liz Clarke and Mark Maske of the Washington Post report.
- Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wonders if Lions GM Martin Mayhew will be the latest post-London staff casualty, using Matt Millen‘s 2008 ouster as a reference point of Detroit bucking the usual trend of firing GMs after the season.
NFC Notes: 49ers, JPP, Lions, Bears
A quick look around the NFC…
- If the 49ers – losers of five of their first seven games – continue their downward spiral through the rest of the season, first-year head coach Jim Tomsula and his staff (notably offensive coordinator Geep Chryst and defensive coordinator Eric Mangini) could end up as the fall guys, per Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. While general manager Trent Baalke and quarterback Colin Kaepernick may also be under fire, Maiocco believes both have built up credit within the organization via past accomplishments. Thus, they have better odds than the coaches of remaining with the Niners in 2016.
- Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, finally back with the team after a July 4 fireworks accident that cost him his right index finger, is confident his injury won’t affect his on-field performance. “There’s not going to be a major adjustment. As far as my hand goes, I’ll get used to it. I’m just fortunate to play football again,” Pierre-Paul said, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. “The day I walked in here I already won. People said I was going to be out for the whole season,” the 26-year-old added. Pierre-Paul won’t play in the Giants-Saints game Sunday and it’s unclear at the moment when he’ll make his season debut.
- New Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter had past run-ins with the law in Knoxville – a DUI in 2006 and an aggravated burglary charge in 2009 – but the records of his arrests mysteriously vanished, according to Robert Allen of the Detroit Free Press. “There’s no record. There’s nothing,” said Knoxville police spokesman Darrell DeBusk.
- The Bears worked out free agent punter Zoltan Mesko on Friday, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Chicago brought in the left-footed Mesko in an effort to prepare for Vikings lefty Jeff Locke – whom the Bears will face Sunday.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/31/15
Here are today’s minor moves:
- The Dolphins placed Cameron Wake on season-ending injured reserve after the star pass-rusher tore his Achilles’ tendon against the Patriots on Thursday night, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets. The four-time Pro Bowler will be 34 next season.
- In addition, the Dolphins pilfered one of their AFC rivals’ practice squad players in signing tackle Ulrick John from the Colts‘ 10-man taxi unit, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (on Twitter). A seventh-round pick of Indianapolis’ last year, John’s been with the Colts since last season but hasn’t received any game action. Miami’s now dealing with the loss of starting right tackle Ja’Wuan James for several weeks, creating the need for an extra man at the position.
- The Raiders promoted linebacker Korey Toomer to their 53-man roster and cut defensive end Shelby Harris, according to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). A fifth-round pick of the Seahawks’ in 2012, Toomer played in eight games with the Rams and Cowboys last season. Per the Associated Press’ Josh Dubow (via Twitter), Toomer has 139 career special teams snaps and no defensive plays on his resume.
- With J.T. Thomas out for Sunday’s Week 8 game and Jon Beason questionable, the Giants signed linebacker James Morris off their practice squad and cut cornerback Brandon McGee, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News reports (on Twitter). The 24-year-old Morris spent time with the Patriots last year prior to landing on the Giants’ practice squad. He’s yet to suit up in a game.
- The Titans made a repeat transaction in signing wide receiver Rico Richardson from their practice squad and cutting tight end Chase Coffman to make room, Jim Wyatt of Titans Online tweets. Cut earlier this week in favor of Coffman, Richardson will be needed for depth purposes for a second straight Sunday, with Harry Douglas out again with a rib injury, Wyatt reports (on Twitter).