Anthony Johnson

NFL Workout Updates: 9/3/19

Here are today’s workout updates, all courtesy of Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter) unless otherwise noted. The Saints had several recognizable players in for workouts.

Arizona Cardinals (Twitter link via veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer)

Carolina Panthers (Twitter link via Balzer)

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

  • Brandon Hitner

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins (Twitter link via Balzer)

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/11/18

Today’s minor moves:

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Colts Cut Austin Howard, Reach 53-Man Roster

The Colts are at the 53-man roster max after making a bundle of transactions, including the release of offensive tackle Austin Howard.

[RELATED: Colts Cut John Simon]

The Colts invested $1.3MM guaranteed in Howard, but he was medically cleared until late July and struggled in camp and during the preseason. The Colts dangled him in trade talks this week, but there were no takers for him.

Despite his issues this summer, Howard had a solid 2017 with the Ravens and graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 36 offensive tackle. If healthy, he could draw interest from other teams.

The Colts also placed defensive end Chris McCain, linebacker Jeremiah George, defensive end Anthony Johnson, and tight end Ross Travis on injured reserve.

Here’s a look at the rest of the Colts’ moves:

Waived:

Last year, Bond ascended to the starting center job when Ryan Kelly broke his foot late in training camp. Unfortunately, a torn quad landed him on IR in October. This year, he’ll be looking for work elsewhere.

Alie-Cox was a former basketball player looking to transition to tight end. Although Antonio Gates and others have successfully made the jump, Alie-Cox has yet to find similar success.

In addition to the aforementioned moves, the Colts also waived the following players with an injury designation. If they clear waivers, then they revert to the Colts’ Injured Reserve list:

Colts Place LB John Simon On IR

The Colts have placed linebacker John Simon on injured reserve and promoted defensive tackle Anthony Johnson from their practice squad, the club announced today.John SImon (Vertical)

Simon, who is now dealing with a shoulder injury, also missed three games earlier this season with a neck issue. Part of general manager Chris Ballard‘s initial free agent class, the 27-year-old Simon was lured away from the division-rival Texans via a three-year, $14MM contract. For that price, Indianapolis received solid — if not spectacular — production, as Simon managed three sacks while grading as the league’s No. 55 edge defender among 115 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.

Johnson, meanwhile, has appeared on a number of rosters since entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2014, but his most significant playing time came in 2016, when he saw action in 11 total games while splitting time between the Jets and Patriots. He’ll now get a four-game audition during which the Colts can decide whether the 6’3″, 308-pounder should be part of the team’s 2018 plans on the interior.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/17/17

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/27/17

Today’s minor moves:

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

  • Waived: DE Caleb Kidder
  • Waived/injured: TE Matt Lengel

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jets Sign Anthony Johnson From Pats’ P-Squad

The Jets have signed defensive lineman Anthony Johnson from the Patriots’ practice squad, freelance NFL reporter Rand Getlin tweets. The move leaves a vacancy on the Pats’ 10-man p-squad and will require a corresponding move from the Jets to make room on the 53-man roster. Anthony Johnson (Vertical)

In May, the Patriots signed Johnson just after shipping linebacker Jon Bostic to the Lions. This fall, Johnson has been dropped, signed to the practice squad, promoted, dropped, signed to the practice squad, given a raise on his p-squad salary, promoted, dropped again, and signed to the Pats’ practice squad again before being plucked by Gang Green today. Johnson now hopes to find some stability in the swamps of New Jersey.

This year, Johnson appeared in four games for the Pats and registered eight total tackles. His only other previous NFL experience came in 2014 when he played in seven games for the Dolphins. The AFC East tour continues for the 23-year-old as he joins the Jets ahead of their Sunday matchup versus the Rams.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/25/16

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed: WR Dobson Collins

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

  • Cut: OL Mike Liedtke

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Jets

  • Signed: LB Reshard Cliett (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/24/16

Monday’s minor moves:

  • The Patriots have cut defensive lineman Anthony Johnson, according to Rand Getlin (on Twitter). The former Dolphin and Redskin has shuffled in and out of the New England organization since signing with the club in May. Johnson took part in four of the Patriots’ first seven games and made one start.
  • The Chargers will re-sign cornerback Pierre Desir, tweets Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The club waived Desir on Saturday.
  • The Packers have promoted receiver Geronimo Allison and cornerback Jermaine Whitehead from their practice squad, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. They’ll take the places of wideout Jared Abbrederis and corner Chris Banjo, both of whom landed on injured reserve Monday.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Patriots Notes: Lewis, Jackson, Bennett, Butler

The Patriots have made team-friendly extension offers to a number of their pending free agents — including Martellus Bennett, Malcolm Butler, Jamie Collins, Dont’a Hightower, and Logan Ryan — but so far, no player has been interested in putting pen to paper, according to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. Given that the salary cap continues to rise, each of these impending free agents figures to cash in the open market, and therefore have little incentive to agree to any offer New England puts on the table.

Here’s more on the Patriots, who are now 5-1 after beating the Bengals today:

  • After opening the year on the physically unable to perform list, running back Dion Lewis is eligible to begin practicing this week. There’s a chance that happens, but it also wouldn’t be surprising for the Patriots to hold Lewis out of game action until after the club’s November bye, writes Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. Lewis has made “positive progress” as he recovers from ACL surgery, per Reiss, but New England will exude caution nonetheless.
  • Offensive lineman Tre’ Jackson also started the season on the PUP list, but he’s closer to returning than is Lewis, reports Reiss. Mason is expected to practice this week, and should be able to play again as soon very soon. In fact, New England’s release of guard Jonathan Cooper may have precipitated by Mason’s health.
  • The Patriots recently gave $52,700 raises to four practice squad players — running back Bishop Sankey, defensive end Geneo Grissom, guard Chris Barker, and defensive tackle Anthony Johnson. For what it’s worth, Grissom and Johnson were then promoted to active roster on Saturday.