HEADLINES

Anthony Johnson

Patriots Place Jonathan Freeny On IR

October 15th, 2016 at 4:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

A starter in four of the Patriots’ five games thus far this season, Jonathan Freeny may not return to the field in 2016. The Patriots placed the fifth-year outside linebacker on IR, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.

Afflicted with a shoulder injury, Freeny played in all five of the Pats’ games and was the recipient of a two-year, $4.1MM extension in August. He will now be out until at least December. New England could activate Freeny after eight weeks, and the second-year starter could return to practice after six, but can only select one player from its IR list to return to action.

The Pats also placed recently added tight end Greg Scruggs on IR. To replace the duo on the 53-man roster, the Patriots signed defensive tackle Anthony Johnson and defensive end Geneo Grissom from their practice squad, Florio reports.

Freeny recorded 10 tackles and forced a fumble this season. He started seven games in 2015 after playing the previous three years with the Dolphins.

Scruggs, who has a knee injury, played in three games with the Bears this season but had yet to see action for his current team. He’s in his first season as a tight end after previously serving as a defensive lineman. However, with Freeny now on IR, Scruggs’ chances of playing again this season are remote.

Practice Squad Updates: 9/28/16

September 28th, 2016 at 8:02pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s practice squad moves:

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs

Oakland Raiders

New England Patriots

New York Giants

  • Signed: OT Jon Halapio (Twitter link via James Kratch of NJ.com)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Patriots To Cut DT Anthony Johnson

September 26th, 2016 at 1:30pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Patriots will cut defensive tackle Anthony Johnson, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Given that he’s not a vested veteran, Johnson will need to pass through waives before entering free agency.Anthony Johnson (Vertical)

[RELATED: New England Patriots Depth Chart]

New England could use its newly-created roster spot in a variety of ways, including to sign a free agent quarterback if needed. T.J. Yates is reportedly the club’s “free agent of choice,” but the Patriots haven’t made an attempt to add him as of yet, which indicates a certain level of optimism regarding Jimmy Garoppolo and/or Jacoby Brissett‘s health. New England is more interested in “bulking up” its defensive line than adding another QB right now, tweets Dianna Russini of ESPN.com, so the team could simply swap out Johnson for another DL.

Johnson, 23, signed with the Patriots in May, and despite his limited track record, lasted through final cuts to make the club’s 53-man roster. But he hasn’t contributed much in 2016, managing only 20 snaps on defense. Johnson’s only other NFL experience came with the Vikings, for whom he played seven games in 2014.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lions Acquire Jon Bostic From Patriots

May 9th, 2016 at 5:46pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lions have acquired linebacker Jon Bostic from the Patriots, as Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). New England will receive a conditional 2017 seventh-round draft pick in return. Jon Bostic (vertical)

Bostic, a former second-round pick, is no stranger to being traded after a September swap shipped him from the Bears to the Pats. In 2015, he appeared in eleven games (one start) for New England, recording two tackles. Not long ago, however, Bostic was looked at as a promising youngster. As a rookie with the Bears, Bostic played in all 16 games with nine starts on the year. In total, he notched 57 tackles, 2.0 sacks, and an interception in 2013. He followed that up in 2014 with a career high of 83 tackles. Now, he’ll try and get back to his old form with Detroit in 2016.

The swap marks the first deal between Lions GM Bob Quinn and his former team. Given the relationship there and Quinn’s knowledge of Pats player, it wouldn’t be surprising to see more deals go down between the two clubs in the future.

The Pats have also signed defensive lineman Anthony Johnson, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/2/16

May 2nd, 2016 at 7:39pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/9/15

November 9th, 2015 at 8:23pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s practice squad moves:

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Washington

Workout Notes: Titans, Brown, Johnson, Dixon

October 21st, 2015 at 4:46pm CST by Zachary Links

Just over seven months after he announced his retirement from the NFL, cornerback Cortland Finnegan had a workout today with the Patriots. Finnegan, 31, was one of the league’s worst cornerbacks in 2013, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics. PFF ranked Finnegan 109th out of 110 qualified corners, with a grade of -19.7 in just seven games. As such, it came as a bit of a surprise when Miami inked the former Ram to a two-year, $11MM deal in 2014. He might not be worthy of that kind of pay, but he could make for an intriguing depth option for the Pats or another team.

Here’s a rundown of today’s other workouts from around the NFL, with all links going to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post on Twitter, unless noted otherwise..

Dolphins Pare Roster Down To 53

September 5th, 2015 at 5:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Dolphins removed 20 players from their roster in order to reach the mandated 53-man limit, with the most notable of the team’s releases coming at kicker.

Caleb Sturgis will not begin a third season as the Dolphins’ kicker, as Andrew Franks won competition for the spot, according to the team’s website.

In going with rookie undrafted free agent Franks over Sturgis, a third-year veteran, it marks the first time in eight years Miami will deploy two new specialists. Rookie Matt Darr supplanted eight-year punter Brandon Fields, a 2013 Pro Bowler, earlier this week.

Sturgis missed eight kicks in each of his two campaigns.

Miami’s additional cuts are as follows:

  • Damarr Aultman, WR
  • McLeod Bethel-Thompson, QB
  • Sam Brenner, C
  • Deandre Coleman, DT
  • James Davidson, LB
  • Emmanuel Dieke, DE
  • Mike Gillislee, RB
  • Cobi Hamilton, WR
  • Donald Hawkins, T
  • Mike Hull, LB
  • Anthony Johnson, DT
  • Christion Jones, WR (Waived/injured)
  • Don Jones, S
  • Mike Liedtke, G/T
  • Jeff Luc, LB
  • Jordan Tripp, LB
  • Cedric Thompson, S
  • Jake Stoneburner, TE
  • Tim Semisch, TE
  • Aundrey Walker, T

Minor Moves: Friday

December 12th, 2014 at 9:10pm CST by Dallas Robinson

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

  • The Dolphins have placed defensive tackle Anthony Johnson on injured reserve, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Johnson, an undrafted rookie out of LSU, has seen just 84 snaps this season.
  • In advance of Sunday’s game against the Colts, the Texans have placed defensive end Tim Jamison, who’s been dealing with a knee injury, on injured reserve, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston. To fill its 53-man roster, Houston promoted fellow DE Keith Browner from its practice squad.

AFC East Links: Gronk, Dolphins, Saunders

June 28th, 2014 at 9:15am CST by Matt Feminis

Rob Gronkowski‘s impact on the Patriots’ offense is undeniable, but ESPN’s Kevin Seifert wonders, “Are we obsessing over the right issue? Rather than trying to pinpoint Gronkowski’s return to full strength, perhaps it would be more productive (and realistic) to gauge whether the Patriots are any better equipped to play without him than they were last season.” Seifert spoke to colleague Matt Williamson, who is optimistic the Pats are better prepared this year if/when they’re without a healthy Gronk.

Here’s a handful more AFC East links:

  • Dolphins defensive tackle Jared Odrick is a bargain, says ESPN’s James Wilder, but it doesn’t appear the fifth-year defensive tackle should expect a contract extension this season.
  • Rookie defensive tackle Anthony Johnson hopes to be a teammate of Odrick. While the undrafted free agent faces an uphill battle to secure a roster spot, MiamiDolphins.com’s Alain Poupart profiles Johnson and calls him one of team’s most intriguing rookies. A highly coveted recruit out of high school, Johnson looked like a budding star as a sophomore at LSU, but he did not have a strong junior season. Additionally, concerns about his character and work ethic contributed to him tumbling out of the draft despite being considered a second- or third-round talent by some evaluators. If there’s a silver lining for Johnson’s outlook, by virtue of his status as an undrafted free agent, the “boom-or-bust” prospect now becomes a low-risk, high-reward proposition for the Dolphins.
  • The Jets are hoping fourth-round receiver Jalen Saunders establishes himself as a dangerous punt returner, writes ESPN’s Rich Cimini. A smallish, underpowered slot receiver/punt returner, Saunders flashed speed and quickness to flip the field in college. However, Cimini cautions fans there’s no guarantee Saunders’ skills will translate: “I remember when Aaron Glenn came out in 1994 and everybody was raving about his punt-returning prowess in college. Well, he was a bust as a returner.” While Glenn, a first-round pick, was a much more ballyhooed draftee, the Jets will be satisfied if Saunders can provide a spark on special teams and allow Jeremy Kerley to focus on his slot receiver duties.
  • On the Bills website, A.J. Devine looks at five training camp position battles to watch, including the offensive line, where “An influx of young, powerful linemen was one of the highlights of the Bills offseason. It seems as though head coach Doug Marrone has left every position along the line open for competition and will give everyone the opportunity to fight for a starting spot.”
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