QBs Mallett, Daniels To Work Out For XFL
Ryan Mallett and B.J. Daniels are eyeing another shot at professional football. The two former NFL quarterbacks (along with a long list of hopefuls) are participating at this weekend’s XFL Summer Showcase in Tampa Bay (full list via Emoy Hunt of The Athletic on Twitter).
The XFL Summer Showcase will take place in eight major cities through June and July. The invite-only workout is for players who recently completed their college eligibility, previously participated in the NFL, or played in an “alternate football league.” The event, which operates similarly to the combine, is intended for those seeking “potential XFL opportunities.”
Mallett, a 2011 third-round pick out of Arkansas, was once considered to be the heir apparent to Tom Brady in New England. That didn’t end up being the case, and the quarterback ultimately bounced between the Texans and Ravens. In 21 career NFL games, Mallett completed 55.1-percent of his passes for 1,835 yards, nine touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. His last NFL appearance came in 2017 with Baltimore.
Following a standout career at South Florida, Daniels was selected by the 49ers in the seventh-round of the 2013 draft. The former signal-caller was a practice squad mainstay until 2017, although the Seahawks gave him a handful of appearances in 2015. That season, Daniels earned snaps at wideout, and assuming his NFL career has come to an end, he’ll have finished with as many career receptions as pass attempts.
Other notable participants include running back Matt Jones, who had 950 rushing yards with the Redskins between 2015 and 2016. Former Colts linebacker Antonio Morrison, former first-round safety Matt Elam, and former Buccaneers defensive end George Johnson will also be in attendance.
B.J. Daniels, Makinton Dorleant Suspended
Free agent running back/wide receiver B.J. Daniels has been suspended four weeks, and free agent cornerback Makinton Dorleant has been banned for one week, according to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter links).
Daniels, 27, was a collegiate quarterback at South Florida but has had a difficult time finding a home in the NFL, vacillating between running back and wideout. He hasn’t been able to stick with a club, either, as he’s spent time with six different teams since entering the league in 2013. Most recently, Daniels was thought to be in contention for the Falcons’ third running back job, but an injury ended that hope.
Dorleant, meanwhile, appeared in four games for the Packers in 2016 after going undrafted out of Northern Iowa. He’d spent most of the season on injured resrve prior to that, however, and was placed back on IR in January. Dorleant, whose arrest is most likely tied to a March arrest for public intoxication, has worked out for the Bills, Chiefs, and Jets over the past month.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/15/17
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived from injured reserve: RB/WR B.J. Daniels
Carolina Panthers
- Waived from injured reserve: S Dean Marlowe
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: CB Dejaun Butler, CB John Green, TE M.J. McFarland, WR Corey Washington
- Waived: OL Ruben Carter, WR Javontee Herndon, LB Lucas Wacha
- Waived/injured: TE Connor Hamlett
Detroit Lions
- Placed on injured reserve: DE Kerry Hyder, RB Mike James
- Waived: G Matt Rotheram
- Waived from injured reserve: WR Ryan Spadola
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: DL Shaneil Jenkins
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Justice Liggins
- Waived/injured: RB Dalton Crossan
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed LB Kyle Coleman
- Waived/injured: LB Mike Moore
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: T Sean Hickey, WR Rashad Lawrence
- Waived: T Kwayde Miller
- Waived/injured: WR Francis Owusu
- Waived from injured reserve: WR Jordan Westerkamp
Falcons Sign Six To Reserve/Futures Deals
Following a devastating Super Bowl loss, the Falcons have begun their offseason by inking six players to reserve/futures contracts, the club announced. The following players were inked to futures deals, which will go into effect on the first day of the 2017 league year, with players joining their respective club’s offseason 90-man rosters:
- OL Carter Bykowski
- WR B.J. Daniels
- OL Kevin Graf
- DE Martin Ifedi
- TE Darion Griswold
- DT Jimmy Staten
Atlanta had previously inked center Trevor Robinson (link) and wide receiver Anthony Dable (link) to futures contracts, bringing the club’s total to eight.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/19/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed WR B.J. Daniels
- Cut: WR J.D. McKissic
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed LB Lavar Edwards
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DB Jerome Couplin, LB Cassanova McKinz, LB Reggie Northrup, DB Kevin Short (link via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com)
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: LB Brandon Chubb
NFL Workout Updates: 11/22/16
Tuesday is workout day in the NFL, and today was no different. Due to the sheer volume of today’s auditions, we’ll split up the reports by conference:
NFC
- The Bears worked out four offensive lineman today, according to ESPN’s Brad Biggs (via Twitter): Reid Fragel, Jeff Linkenbach, Dillon Farrell, and Dallas Thomas. Biggs tweets that the team also worked out defensive end Lawrence Okoye, who is a former British track and field athlete.
- The Buccaneers auditioned cornerback D’Joun Smith, Cody Riggs and Duke Thomas, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). The team also worked out wideouts Corey Washington and Myles White. Riggs and White were ultimately signed to the practice squad.
- The Falcons worked out former Tennessee defensive end Ropati Pitoitua, Caplan tweets.
- The Lions worked out quarterbacks Keith Wenning and Logan Thomas along with wide receivers Dres Anderson, Tyler Murphy, and Andrew Turzilli, as Justin Rogers of The Detroit News tweets. Anderson has since signed with Chicago’s practice squad.
- The Packers were busy today, according to Caplan (via Twitter). The team auditioned receiver B.J. Daniels, cornerback Darryl Morris, and linebackers Derrick Mathews, Beniquez Brown, Dwayne Norman and Darnell Sankey.
- The Panthers worked out guard Josh LeRibeus and former Patriots center Ryan Wendell, tweets Caplan.
AFC
- As Clark Harris recovers from an injury, the Bengals worked out long snappers John DePalma, Ryan DiSalvo, Thomas Gafford, and Tyler Ott, according to Caplan (via Twitter). The team ended up signing Ott to the practice squad.
- The Dolphins worked out offensive tackles Jesse Davis and Marquis Lucas, tweets Caplan.
- The Jaguars worked out a trio of tight ends in Justin Perillo, E.J. Bibbs, and Orson Charles, tweets Caplan. Bibbs ultimately landed on the team’s practice squad. The Jaguars also worked out linebacker Earl Okine.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
NFL Workout Updates: 10/3/16
We’re a quarter of the way through the regular season, and clubs are constantly updating their emergency lists of players. Let’s take a look at the latest reported auditions and visits:
- The Giants worked out safeties Rahim Moore and and Dion Bailey, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). New York is looking for defensive back help given the large amount of injuries to its secondary, and the club has also auditioned Will Allen, Donte Whitner, Jeron Johnson, and Shamiel Gary. However, the Giants don’t expect to sign anyone until tomorrow at the earliest.
- The Redskins auditioned safety Cedric Thompson, Caplan tweets. Like the division rival Giants, Washington is also on the hunt for secondary options after corner-turned-safety DeAngelo Hall was lost for the season. The Redskins worked out fellow safeties Josh Evans and Jerome Couplin last week.
- The Patriots took a look at wide receivers B.J. Daniels and Shaq Evans, per Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Daniels, a former college quarterback, has spent time on five other clubs’ rosters over the past three-plus seasons.
- Offensive lineman Mike Liedtke will meet with the Ravens on Tuesday, as agent Brett Tessler tweets.
Bears Cut Several Players
The Bears dropped a number of players today in their quest to get down to a 53-man roster. Here are the cuts that we know of so far. All links to go to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter), unless otherwise noted.
Waived:
- WR B.J. Daniels (Twitter)
- DT Terry Williams (link)
- C Khaled Holmes (link).
Released:
- G Shelley Smith (link)
- OL Garry Williams (link)
- CB Kevin Peterson (link)
Waived/Injured:
- LB Danny Mason (link)
Mason suffered a knee sprain in last night’s preseason game. Daniels hooked on with the Bears in late July, making them his fifth NFL franchise since San Francisco picked him in the seventh round of the 2013 draft. The former South Florida quarterback has spent time at both QB and receiver in the pros. In his eight appearances (six with Seattle, two with Houston) last year, he lined up at wideout and on special teams.
Bears Sign Brandon Boykin
SATURDAY, 3:50pm: Boykin signed a one-year deal worth $760K, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The fifth-year cornerback’s contract counts at $600K on the Bears’ cap sheet.
WEDNESDAY, 7:04pm: The Bears have signed free agent cornerback Brandon Boykin to an undisclosed contract, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times was among those to report (Twitter link). In addition to Boykin, the Bears have added free agent wide receiver B.J. Daniels, thus bringing their roster to the 90-player maximum.
[RELATED: Reviewing Chicago’s Offseason]
This offseason has been a tumultuous one for the 26-year-old Boykin, who is joining his second employer in recent months. After he could only find a one-year free agent deal with the Panthers in March, the defending NFC champions then released Boykin in May. A June report stated that Boykin had career-threatening hip problems, a rumor Steelers defensive backs coach Carnell Lake started. Boykin spent last season in Pittsburgh, where he played under Lake and ranked as a top 40 cornerback in the league (out of 111 qualified players), per Pro Football Focus.
Prior to joining the Steelers in a trade last summer, Boykin was an Eagle from 2012-14 after they used a fourth-round pick on him. The ex-Georgia Bulldog appeared in all 48 regular-season games with the Eagles, logged six starts and picked off seven passes – six of which came in 2013. Between those three seasons and his year in Pittsburgh, Boykin has never missed a regular-season game.
After the Panthers released him and before the Bears signed Boykin, the slot corner drew interest from two other NFC teams, the Falcons and Cowboys. He’ll now push for a roster spot in a Chicago secondary whose top four corners consist of Kyle Fuller, Tracy Porter, Bryce Callahan and fourth-round rookie Deiondre’ Hall, as Roster Resource shows. Of the three veterans, only Fuller earned an above-average PFF grade last year. If healthy, then, it seems Boykin will have a strong chance to make the Bears’ roster and perhaps accrue notable playing time this season.
Daniels, meanwhile, is now part of his fifth NFL franchise since the 49ers picked him in the seventh round of the 2013 draft. The former South Florida quarterback has spent time at both QB and receiver in the pros. In his eight appearances (six with the Seahawks, two with the Texans) last year, he lined up at wideout and on special teams.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Giants Claim Logan Thomas
SATURDAY, 10:10am: The Giants have announced the deal on Twitter.
FRIDAY, 2:56pm: The Giants have claimed quarterback Logan Thomas off waivers from the Dolphins, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. To make room for Thomas, the Giants waived fellow QB B.J. Daniels, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com (Twitter link).
Thomas, whom Miami dropped from its roster earlier this week, will now join his third NFL organization since the Cardinals selected him in the fourth round of the 2014 draft. The former Virginia Tech standout has thrown just nine passes during his pro career and completed only one of those attempts. He made it count, though, connecting on an 81-yard touchdown against the Broncos in October 2014.
Thomas, 24, is now the third quarterback on the Giants’ roster, as Roster Resource shows, joining Eli Manning and Ryan Nassib.