Andrew DePaola

Panthers Set 53-Man Roster

The Panthers have officially set their 53-man roster, and there are few major surprises on the list. One of the most notable names is running back Cameron Artis-Payne, who spent the past four years in Carolina. The team also moved on from fellow offensive veteran Aldrick Robinson, who finished last season with five touchdown receptions for the Vikings.

Otherwise, the other notable names include recent draft picks, like 2018 seventh-round wideout Terry Godwin and 2017 fifth-round cornerback Corn Elder.

The rest of the Panthers’ roster moves are below:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/Injured:

Placed on IR:

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/19

We’ll keep track of today’s roster shuffling here as teams gear up for major cuts at the end of the week:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

  • Signed: RB James Williams

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Tennessee Titans

  • Waived: TE Cole Wick
  • Waive/injured: OLB Josh Smith

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: T Will Holden, DE Logan Tago
  • Waived: DT Jay-Tee Tiuli

Raiders Sign Corey Liuget, Place Doug Martin On IR

The Raiders have signed free agent defensive tackle Corey Liuget, the team announced. Oakland has also placed running back Doug Martin on IR, which contradicts reports that surfaced earlier today indicating that Martin was released.

Liuget has generated plenty of interest on the open market this offseason. He met with the Jaguars, Giants, Seahawks, and Cardinals before signing with Oakland, his former division rival.

Liuget spent the first eight years of his career with the Chargers after the Bolts made him the 18th-overall pick of the 2011 draft. Earlier in his career, Liuget made noise as a defensive end and managed 18 sacks for the Chargers between 2011-2014. His sack totals, predictably, plummeted when he was moved to the interior on a full-time basis, and his 2018 suspension for PEDs further diminished his stock. However, he should serve as a quality rotational piece for Oakland’s D-line.

As for Martin, Oakland may indeed end up releasing him with an injury settlement, as Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network says that Martin will be healthy soon and will be ready to play somewhere (Twitter link). The Raiders, meanwhile, will open the season with rookie Josh Jacobs as their No. 1 RB, with DeAndre Washington serving as Jacobs’ backup.

In addition to those moves, Oakland also signed UDFA linebacker Bryson Allen-Williams and waived long snapper Andrew DePaola.

Latest On Raiders ST Competitions

The Raiders have Daniel Carlson locked in as their starting kicker, but the coaching staff has some tough decisions to make elsewhere on special teams. As Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal writes, the organization currently has competitions at both punter and long snapper.

The punter competition is between Johnny Townsend and rookie A.J. Cole. The 24-year-old Townsend is the incumbent after appearing in all 16 games for the Raiders in 2018. However, the Florida product struggled at times during his rookie campaign, and he ranked 30th in the NFL with a 38.3-yard net average. The Raiders ended up adding Cole as an undrafted free agent, but Gehlken notes that Townsend is still the favorite for the position.

“He’s really done a great job working on his hang time,” said special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia. “That’s improved tremendously (over) the course of the year. Now, we’ve given up a little bit of direction to get his hang time where he’d like it to be, and hopefully we can get both — the hang and the direction — going into training camp.”

Meanwhile, veteran Andrew DePaola is the favorite at long snapper, although the 31-year-old missed the majority of last season with a torn ACL. The Raiders signed Trent Sieg to fill in, and the rookie ended up appearing in 15 games last year. While DePaola wasn’t able to get on the field with a rookie punter and rookie kicker, the veteran was still instrumental in their development.

“If we had any questions, we’d always ask him because he’s been through it a little more than we have,” Carlson said. “It was just huge for us last season to have that resource. It’s good to have him back and healthy and competing now again.”

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/12/18

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

  • Waived from injured reserve: OL J.J. Dielman

Detroit Lions

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

AFC Contract Details: Crabtree, Williamson

Here are figures on some of the recent contracts signed around the NFL, with all links going to Twitter unless noted otherwise.

Raiders Sign LS Andrew DePaola

Former Bears long snapper Andrew DePaola signed with the Raiders, agent Sean Stellato tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). It’s a four-year deal worth $4.27MM with $875K guaranteed. 

DePaola, 31 in July, spent three seasons with the Buccaneers before hooking on with the Bears last season. The signing leaves the Bears without a long snapper for the moment, but Patrick Scales, who was non-tendered, could be brought back to fill that hole.

DePaola’s deal is uncharacteristically high for a long snapper, but coach Jon Gruden isn’t afraid to go against the grain. Gruden has vowed to “‘throw the game back to 1998” and he took a step in that direction this week by signing fullback Keith Smith to a two-year, $4.2MM deal.

Sunday NFL 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 for the Bears, Lions, Packers, and Vikings are noted below.

Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. 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

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Minnesota Vikings

Buccaneers Waive RB Jeremy McNichols

The Buccaneers are reportedly bailing on a 2017 draft pick. According to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo (via Twitter), the team has waived running back Jeremy McNichols. The rookie could theoretically pass through waivers and land on Tampa Bay’s practice squad.

Jeremy McNicholsThe Buccaneers used a fifth-round pick on the Boise State product, and he was expected to serve as a depth piece while the team awaited the return of suspended running back Doug Martin. However, the team was apparently content with Jacquizz RodgersCharles Sims, and Peyton Barber for the time being.

McNichols was one of the most productive collegiate running backs over the past two seasons. Between 2015 and 2016, the running back averaged 1,523 yards and 21 touchdowns per season. He also proved to be competent in the passing game, averaging 44 receptions for 321 yards during that same span.

The Buccaneers have also announced the following transactions:

Placed on IR:

Released: