Arthur Miley

AFC Notes: Titans, Bills, Raiders, Texans, Fins

The Titans made wide receiver Kendall Wright a healthy scratch for their season finale last Sunday, and now the impending free agent is ready to leave Tennessee. “I saw the 2017 Tennessee Titans, and I am not a part of the 2017 Tennessee Titans,” Wright told TitansOnline.com on Monday (via Chris Wesseling of NFL.com). “It is what it is. I respect everybody in the building.” A first-round pick in 2012, Wright began his career with three straight seasons of at least 57 catches and 93 targets, but the Titans tamped down their reliance on him the past two years. In 21 games dating back to 2015, Wright has combined for just 65 receptions and 102 targets. Now, with a trip to the open market looming, Wright feels “free.”

While Wright looks like a lock to exit the organization, two of his coaches – Bob Bratkowski (receivers) and Jason Tucker (assistant WRs) – definitely won’t be back in 2017. The Titans parted ways with the duo Wednesday, tweets Jim Wyatt of the team’s website.

More from the AFC:

  • The Bills will interview their interim head coach, Anthony Lynn, on Thursday, according to John Wawrow of the Associated Press (Twitter link). There was a report Tuesday that Lynn might not want to take over on a permanent basis in Buffalo, though he’s at least keeping that option on the table. The 48-year-old is a popular candidate around the NFL, as PFR’s Head Coaching Search Tracker shows.
  • Raiders safety Karl Joseph says he’ll play in Saturday’s wild-card matchup in Houston, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets. The rookie missed the last four games of the regular season, and his return is big for Oakland with Nate Allen in the concussion protocol.
  • Unlike Joseph, Texans quarterback Tom Savage won’t be available this weekend, relays Palmer (Twitter link). Savage suffered a concussion last Sunday, thereby reopening the door for Brock Osweiler to start, but there was hope that Savage would be OK to serve as a backup. That won’t be the case, though, and the Texans will have to turn to Brandon Weeden as their No. 2 option.
  • The Dolphins worked out linebacker Ron Thompson, defensive end Arthur Miley and four defensive backs – L.J. McCray, Floyd Raven, Trent Matthews and Daniel Davie – according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). Miami’s need for DBs is obvious, as its secondary is extremely banged up with the team’s weekend wild-card game in Pittsburgh approaching. Cornerback Byron Maxwell and safety Bacarri Rambo didn’t practice Wednesday, while safeties Reshad Jones and Isa Abdul-Quddus are on the shelf thanks to season-ending injuries.
  • In addition to the previously reported Elijah Shumate and Jeff Richards, the Chiefs auditioned receiver Tre Houston, kicker Devon Bell, defensive tackle Montori Hughes, linebacker Deon Lacey, defensive end Terrell Lathan, tight end Ryan Malleck, running back Will Ratelle and defensive back Julian Wilson last Friday, per Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. All are candidates to sign reserve/futures deal with the Chiefs, writes Paylor, who notes that now-starting running back Spencer Ware joined the team on that type of contract in January 2015.
Zach Links contributed to this post.

Workout Notes: Pack, Vikes, Chiefs, Giants

In addition to the previously reported Joique Bell, the running back-needy Packers worked out fellow rushers James Wilder Jr. and Brandon Wegher on Tuesday, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Defensive end Arthur Miley and defensive back Brandon Dixon also tried out.

More of the latest workouts (courtesy of Howard Balzer, unless otherwise noted):

NFL Workout Notes: Falcons, Lions, Redskins

Former New England defensive end Rufus Johnson worked out for the Falcons today, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Johnson has made the rounds on the workout circuit since getting waived off the Patriots’ practice squad in September. Atlanta also took a look at quarterback Ricky Stanzi, wide receivers Max McCaffrey and Anthony Dable, and defensive ends Lawrence Okoye and Arthur Miley, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com.

Let’s take a look at the rest of the workouts happening around the league today, all courtesy of Caplan unless otherwise noted:

Panthers Cut Fifth-Round CB Zack Sanchez

After the Panthers effectively cut Josh Norman loose, they drafted multiple cornerbacks to help fill the void. Unfortunately, it sounds like one of the Panthers’ three freshman corners wasn’t as sharp as they anticipated. Fifth-round pick Zack Sanchez will be waived today as the team cuts down to 53, according to Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter). Zack Sanchez (vertical)

If Sanchez goes unclaimed on waivers, he could theoretically be a practice squad candidate for Carolina. However, by exposing Sanchez to waivers, the Panthers are effectively saying that they are not afraid to lose him. Sanchez, the 141st overall pick in the draft, received what was supposed to be a four-year contract worth $2.612MM with a signing bonus of about $272K.

Here’s our running list of the Panthers’ cuts so far today, via Joseph Person and Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer, unless noted otherwise:

  • RB Brandon Wegher
  • CB Zack Sanchez
  • DT Eric Crume 
  • TE Eric Wallace
  • TE Marcus Lucas
  • DE Arthur Miley
  • S Stevie Brown (story)

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Panthers Organize Regular-Season Roster

The Panthers cut 22 players to officially reduce their roster to 53, reports Max Henson of Panthers.com.

In addition to placing rookie defensive end Arthur Miley on injured reserve and reaching an injury settlement with offensive lineman Brian Folkerts, the Panthers cut Jordan Todman. This leaves Fozzy Whittaker and Cameron Artis-Payne as Jonathan Stewart‘s primary backups.

The remaining Carolina cuts are as follows:

  • Chas Alecxih, DT
  • Marcus Ball, S
  • Brenton Bersin, WR
  • Brian Blechen, LB
  • Mike Brown, WR
  • Carrington Byndom, CB
  • Damiere Byrd, WR
  • Rakim Cox, DE
  • David Foucault, T
  • Adarius Glanton, LB
  • T.J. Heath, CB
  • Ricky Henry, G
  • Marcus Lucas, TE
  • Jordan McCray, G
  • Terry Redden, DT
  • Scott Simonson, TE
  • Jason Trusnik, LB
  • Martin Wallace, T
  • Lou Young, CB

Panthers To Put Arthur Miley On Short-Term IR

The Panthers will use their short-term injured reserve designation on defensive end Arthur Miley, reports Joe Person of The Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). The undrafted rookie out of Southern University is set to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery.

Miley inked a three-year, $1.59MM deal with Carolina back in May, including a $15K signing bonus. The senior finished last season with 59 tackles and seven sacks.

Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez tweets that the team was “really impressed” with how Miley could “sense where a play is going,” noting that the player has a “really good feel for the game.”

Panthers, 10 UDFAs Reach Deals

MONDAY, 11:11am: The Panthers have officially agred to terms with 10 undrafted free agents, the team announced today in a press release. Of the eight names reported yesterday, seven are included in the team release — Blitch’s name isn’t in there, so it appears he’ll just be a rookie minicamp invitee for now. Here are the other three players signed by Carolina:

  • Steve Miller, DE, Ohio State
  • Brandon Wegher, RB, Morningside
  • Matt Wile, P, Michigan

SUNDAY, 9:14am: The Panthers have agreed to sign eight undrafted free agents thus far. Jonathan Jones of The Charlotte Observer provides the list:

  • Brian Blechen, OLB, Utah
  • Daniel Blitch, OT, Charlotte
  • Damiere Byrd, WR, South Carolina
  • Darious Cummings, DT, Florida
  • Dean Marlowe, S, James Madison
  • Arthur Miley, DT, Southern ($15K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Garry Peters, CB, Clemson
  • Terry Redden, DT, Memphis