Minor Moves: Wednesday
We’ll round up Wednesday’s minor transactions from around the NFL in this space, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:
- Cornerback Al Louis-Jean has re-signed with the Bears on a two-year deal, the team announced today (via Twitter). An undrafted free agent, Louis-Jean remained under team control, but didn’t have a contract for 2015, as an exclusive rights free agent. The 21-year-old recorded nine tackles and one pass defended as a rookie in 2014.
- The Seahawks have signed wide receiver Douglas McNeil to a three-year reserve/futures contract, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). McNeil, who spent some time on the Broncos’ practice squad earlier in the season, finished the season on Seattle’s taxi squad. With Seattle’s season now over, I expect we’ll see the club lock up several more of its PS players very soon.
- In addition to naming a defensive coordinator today, the Cardinals also made a small roster move, signing free agent safety D.J. Campbell, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter). Cut before the 2014 season by the 49ers, Campbell last player a regular season game in 2013 for the Dolphins.
Bears Waive Isaiah Frey
3:30pm: In addition to confirming they’ve cut Frey, the Bears announced several more roster moves today (Twitter links). The team has promoted cornerback Al Louis-Jean from its practice squad to the 53-man roster, and has also cut defensive end David Bass from the roster. Additionally, linebackers DeDe Lattimore and Terrell Manning have joined the practice squad, while defensive tackle Roy Philon and wideout and returner Rashad Ross have been dropped from the unit.
12:56pm: The Bears have parted ways with their nickel back, placing Isaiah Frey on waivers today, reports Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The move will leave Chicago with an open spot on its 53-man roster.
Frey, 24, has been with the Bears since being selected as a sixth-round pick in 2012’s draft, shuttling between the team’s active roster and practice squad at times. After starting this year on the taxi squad, Frey received a promotion during the season’s third week, when Charles Tillman went down with a season-ending injury. Since then, he has acted as the nickel back in Chicago, appearing in 95 defensive snaps over the last three weeks.
While Frey held his own as the Bears’ regular nickel back last season, he has struggled so far this year, allowing a quarterback rating of 133.3 on passes thrown in his direction, along with a pair of touchdowns, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). I’d expect the Bears to try to bring back Frey on their practice squad, but it will be interesting to see which direction the team goes in at the nickel spot now — Sherrick McManis looks like the logical in-house candidate, assuming he’s getting close to 100% healthy.
Sunday/Monday Transactions: NFC North
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions are noted below.
Additionally, as of 11:00am CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s NFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
Chicago Bears:
- Waived (officially announced): Brandon Hartson, LS
- Signed to practice squad (officially announced via Twitter): Taylor Boggs, C; Ryan Groy, G; DeDe Lattimore, LB; Al Louis-Jean, CB; Rashad Ross, KR; Josh Bellamy, WR; Brandon Dunn, DT; Isaiah Frey, CB; Terrance Mitchell, CB; Roy Philon, DT; Rashad Ross, WR
Detroit Lions:
- Signed to practice squad (officially announced): Rodney Austin, G; Emil Igwenagu, FB; Nate Ness, S; Andrew Peacock, WR; Xavier Proctor, DT; Mohammed Seisay, CB; Julian Stanford, LB; Jordan Thompson, TE; Michael Williams, OT; George Winn, RB
Green Bay Packers:
- Signed to practice squad (officially announced): Chris Banjo, S; Kevin Dorsey, WR; Garth Gerhart, C; Alex Gillett, WR; Michael Hill, RB; Adrian Hubbard, LB; Justin Perillo, TE; Luther Robinson, DE; Jeremy Vujnovich, T, Myles White, WR
Minnesota Vikings:
- Claimed off waivers: MarQueis Gray, TE (via Tom Pelissero on Twitter); Mike Harris, OT (via Pelissero on Twitter)
- Cut: Larry Dean, LB (via Darren Wolfson on Twitter); Austin Wentworth, G (via Wolfson on Twitter)
- Signed to practice squad (officially announced): Joe Banyard, RB; Kain Coulter, WR; Isame Faciane, DT; Chase Ford, TE; Donte Foster, WR; Kendall James, CB; Zac Kerin, C; Mike Remmers, OL; Justin Trattou, DT
Bears Cut Eben Britton, Others
4:41pm: The Bears have officially announced all their cuts, so we can add the following names to the list of players no longer on the team’s active roster:
- Josh Bellamy (WR)
- Brandon Dunn (DT)
- Kelvin Hayden (DB)
- M.D. Jennings (S) (waived with injury settlement)
- Al Louis-Jean (CB)
- Austen Lane (DE)
- Tracy Robertson (DT)
1:35pm: The Bears have also cut a duo of young defenders:
- C.J. Wilson (CB) (via Biggs on Twitter)
- Jerry Franklin (LB) (via Biggs on Twitter)
11:12am: The Bears cut down on their offensive line depth this morning, as Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune reports that Eben Britton will be released. The 26-year-old started four games for Chicago in 2013, seeing action on 235 snaps.
As Biggs notes, the only Bears backup lineman with any NFL experience is Brian De La Puente. The team appears ready to roll with rookies Charles Leno Jr. and Michael Ola.
The rest of the Bears moves are listed below:
- Taylor Boggs (C) (via Brad Biggs on Twitter)
- Marcus Trice (DB) (via Biggs on Twitter)
- Ryan Groy (OL) (via Biggs on Twitter)
- Eben Britton (OL) (via Biggs on Twitter)
- Dale Moss (WR) (via Biggs on Twitter)
- Chris Williams (WR) (via Biggs on Twitter)
- DeDe Lattimore (LB) (via Biggs on Twitter)
- Lee Pegues (DT) (via Biggs on Twitter)
Minor Moves: Vikings, Bears, Saints, Bills
A couple of more notable free agents have come off the board today, including cornerback Aaron Berry and center Jonathan Goodwin. However, there are also a handful of under-the-radar moves to round up. Here are Monday’s minor transactions from around the NFL:
- After being cut by the Browns on Friday, defensive back Julian Posey has been claimed off waivers by the Vikings, the club announced today (Twitter link). Another defensive back, Kip Edwards, was waived to make room on Minnesota’s roster for Posey.
- The Bears have signed undrafted free agent cornerback Al Louis-Jean, the team confirmed today (via Twitter). Louis-Jean, who played his college ball at Boston College before leaving early, auditioned for Chicago at last month’s rookie minicamp.
- Guard Mike Golic Jr. and linebacker Spencer Hadley, who both signed with the Saints last month, have been cut, according to Larry Holder of the Times-Picayune (via Twitter).
- Former Syracuse center Macky MacPherson has signed with the Bills, bringing the team’s roster to the maximum 90 players, tweets ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak.