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Austin Pasztor

South Notes: Titans, Martin, Sims, Pasztor

August 15th, 2014 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Let’s check in on a few items from around the NFL’s two South divisions….

  • The Titans inquired last week about the possibility of bringing free agent defensive lineman Vaughn Martin in for a workout, but nothing has materialized on that front yet, says Terry McCormick of 247 Sports. Martin, a former fourth-round pick who has played for the Chargers and Dolphins, inked a minimum salary deal with the Lions near the start of the free agent period, but was cut by the team in June.
  • Buccaneers running back Charles Sims will undergo ankle surgery and is expected to be sidelined for 12-14 weeks, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (Twitter link). That timetable means the rookie rusher could return at some point this season, so we’ll have to wait and see what the Bucs decide to do with him. The club could either keep him on the active roster, place him on injured reserve (ending his season), or make him the one IR player with the designation to return.
  • Third-year offensive lineman Austin Pasztor, who was projected to start at right tackle for the Jaguars this season, has suffered a broken hand and will have surgery to repair the fracture. According to ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco, the exact timetable for Pasztor’s return isn’t yet known, but he’ll be back at some point this season — Jags coach Gus Bradley confirmed that the 23-year-old will be re-evaluated in a month. Until then, Jacksonville will have to fill his shoes at right tackle, either with an internal option or an outside addition.

Minor Moves: Dolphins, Jaguars, Seahawks

April 10th, 2014 at 4:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are today’s minor moves, a list which encompasses signings and cuts involving little-known players, contract restructures, and accepted contract tenders:

  • Jonathan Freeny of the Dolphins also re-signed as an exclusive rights free agent today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Freeny, a key contributor on special teams for Miami, will be in line for a $570K salary.

Earlier updates:

  • Offensive lineman Austin Pasztor has re-signed with the Jaguars, according to agent Sunny Shah (via Twitter). Pasztor had been an exclusive rights free agent, so if he wanted to play in the NFL in 2014, he had no choice but to accept the ERFA tender he received from the club earlier in the offseason. The 23-year-old tackle will be in line for a $570K salary this year.
  • The Bills have cut defensive end Kourtnei Brown, tweets Tim Graham of the Buffalo News. Brown, 25, had been on a futures contract with the club, and has yet to appear in a regular-season NFL game.
  • According to ESPN.com’s John Clayton (Twitter link), Seahawks safety Jeron Johnson, who accepted a second-round RFA tender from the team last month has since restructured his contract. Johnson’s one-year deal can now be worth up to $2MM, says Clayton. Johnson originally signed a $2.187MM tender from the team, but it wasn’t guaranteed, so it didn’t offer much security.

Contract Tenders: 49ers, Jaguars, Broncos

March 7th, 2014 at 4:43pm CST by Zachary Links

Players who have three years or less of NFL experience and no contract for 2014 continue to receive contract tenders from their current teams. For exclusive rights free agents, these tenders essentially represent the contracts they’ll be playing under in 2014, since ERFAs aren’t permitted to negotiate with any of the league’s other 31 teams. Restricted free agents, on the other hand, can accept these one-year contract offers, but will also have the freedom to negotiate with other suitors and perhaps sign an offer sheet once the free agent period begins.

Here are some of the latest ERFA and RFA contract tenders:

Earlier updates:

  • The Falcons tendered cornerback Robert McClain with a $1.431MM offer, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. McClain was the team’s only restricted free agent this offseason.
  • The Jaguars tendered offers to wide receivers Mike Brown ($495K) and Kerry Taylor ($495K), offensive tackle Austin Pasztor ($570K), fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou ($570K), and tailback Jordan Todman ($645K), according to Pelissero (Twitter links). Todman, a former UConn notable, had only practice squad experience before making his on-field debut with the Jags in 2012. He had 256 yards and two scores on the ground with 14 catches, 116 receiving yards, and a touchdown through the air.
  • The Dolphins tendered offers to wide receiver Armon Binns ($495K) and linebacker Jonathan Freeny ($570K), Pelissero tweets.
  • More from Pelissero, who tweets that the Broncos have tendered offers to defensive end Mitch Unrein ($1.431M) and Brandon Marshall ($495K). Of course, that’s the Marshall who plays linebacker, not the star receiver.
  • The Lions have tendered offers to kick returner Jeremy Ross ($570K), linebacker Julian Stanford ($570K), cornerback Chris Greenwood ($570K), and tight end Matt Veldman ($420K), tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (on Twitter) adds that wide receiver Kris Durham was also tendered an offer. Durham had an opportunity to shine when the Lions lost Nate Burleson to injury early in the season but he wasn’t able to break out even with double coverage on Calvin Johnson.
  • The Buccaneers are on the verge of tendering exclusive rights free agents Eric Page and Deveron Carr, tweets Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.