Saints Sign WR Bennie Fowler
Bennie Fowler has found a new home. SiriusXM’s Adam Caplan reports (via Twitter) that the veteran wideout has signed with the Saints.
The Michigan State product spent the first four seasons of his career with the Broncos, and while he averaged 15 games per season between 2015 and 2017, he didn’t put up big numbers. His best season came in 2017, when he hauled in 29 receptions for 350 receiving yards and three scores.
The 29-year-old has bounced around the NFL a bit since that time. He signed with the Bears prior to the 2018 campaign, but he was cut at the end of the preseason. His subsequent stint with the Patriots lasted less than a week, but Fowler eventually found a new home with the Giants. In two-ish seasons with New York, the wideout averaged 19.5 receptions and 196 receiving yards per years.
Fowler is now joining one of the NFL’s top offenses in New Orleans. While the top of the Saints depth chart is highlighted by Michael Thomas and newcomer Emmanuel Sanders, Fowler could emerge from a grouping that includes the likes of Tre’Quan Smith, Deonte Harris, Austin Carr, and Lil’Jordan Humphrey.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/19
Here are Wednesday’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: TE Carson Meier
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: C Jake Brendel
Detroit Lions
- Signed: WR Chris Lacy
- Placed on IR: WR Marvin Hall
New York Giants
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Da’Mari Scott
- Waived: WR Bennie Fowler
Oakland Raiders
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Rico Gafford
- Waived: OL Erik Magnuson
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on IR: DL Damontre Moore
- Promoted from practice squad: DL Jeremiah Valoaga
Washington
- Signed: OLB Nate Orchard
Giants Waive WR Bennie Fowler
The Giants will make an adjustment to their wide receiver group. Despite Golden Tate now residing in concussion protocol, the Giants waived Bennie Fowler.
This marks the second time this season the Giants have cut the seventh-year veteran. They did so in October, when Tate’s suspension ended. While Fowler was released then, due to being a vested veteran, he will hit the waiver wire now. No team signed him immediately upon his October release, however, so he may well head back to free agency.
Fowler had been with Big Blue for two seasons, playing in 18 games and operating as an auxiliary target for Eli Manning and Daniel Jones. The former Broncos UDFA, who worked with wideouts coach Tyke Tolbert in both Denver and New York, caught 39 passes for 392 yards and a touchdown as a Giant.
Fowler, however, was not active for Sunday’s game against the Bears. He is probably best known for catching Peyton Manning‘s final NFL pass — a two-point conversion in Super Bowl 50. Fowler has joined fellow ex-Bronco Cody Latimer on the Giants the past two seasons, with each re-signing with New York this offseason.
Giants To Re-Sign Bennie Fowler
Bennie and the Giants. On Monday, the G-Men re-signed wide receiver Bennie Fowler, bringing him back to the Meadowlands after a short hiatus (Twitter link via Pat Leonard of the Daily News). To make room, the Giants dropped linebacker Nathan Stupar.
Fowler was dropped recently after posting 12 catches for 99 yards through four games. The move helped them clear a spot for the return of Golden Tate, but they need Fowler back in their lives as receiver Sterling Shepard and tight end Evan Engram remain banged up.
The Giants are familiar with Fowler – he spent the 2018 season with the club, though he had just 16 grabs for 199 yards and one touchdown through ten games, mostly as a role player. Before that, Fowler spent four years in Denver.
The Giants fell to the Patriots on Thursday night, dropping them to 2-4 on the season. They’ll look to get things back on track this Sunday, when they face the Cardinals at Metlife Stadium.
NFL Workout Notes: 10/8/19
Here are today’s workout updates. There are a number of notable names on this list, so pay attention!
Arizona Cardinals
- LB Shane Ray
Baltimore Ravens
- DE Fadol Brown, S Demetrious Cox, DE Dewayne Hendrix, S A.J. Howard (signed to practice squad), DB C.J. Reavis
Buffalo Bills
- DE Alex Barrett, RB Senorise Perry (signed to 53-man roster), LB Wyatt Ray (signed to practice squad)
Carolina Panthers
Cleveland Browns
- WR Jeff Badet
Denver Broncos
- CB David Amerson, CB Chris Campbell, CB Deatrick Nichols, CB Shareece Wright
Detroit Lions
- WR Quincy Adeboyejo, WR Bennie Fowler, WR Emanuel Hall
Green Bay Packers
- TE Rico Gathers, DL Mike Pennel, DL Adolphus Washington, TE Cole Wick, DT Sylvester Williams, TE Ethan Wolf (signed to practice squad)
Houston Texans
- C Marcus Henry, DT Willie Henry, DT Brian Price, C Keegan Render
Indianapolis Colts
- DT Carl Davis, LB Obum Gwacham, DE Eli Harold, DL Joel Heath, DL Damontre Moore, LB Pita Taumoepenu, DL Ethan Westbrooks
Jacksonville Jaguars
- TE Brian Parker, TE Eric Tomlinson, TE Will Tye
Los Angeles Chargers
- S Shalom Luani, S Tre Sullivan
New England Patriots
- DB Brian Allen, K Nick Rose, DT Eddie Vanderdoes
Oakland Raiders
- DE Andre Branch, LB Kasim Edebali, OL Datone Jones, DE Terrence Fede, LB Nate Orchard
Philadelphia Eagles
- WR Penny Hart, LB Paul Worrilow
Seattle Seahawks
- CB Adonis Alexander, DB Brian Allen, CB Saivion Smith
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- WR Cyril Grayson, RB Darius Jackson, QB Chad Kanoff, WR Caleb Scott, RB David Williams
Tennessee Titans
- RB Jeremy McNichols, RB Zach Zenner
Washington Redskins
- OL Malcolm Bunche (signed to practice squad), LB Darrell Williams
Vikings Work Out WRs Bennie Fowler, Ryan Grant
While the Vikings reportedly won’t be trading any of their receiver depth, that didn’t stop the coaching staff from auditioning some wideouts yesterday. ESPN’s Courtney Cronin reports (via Twitter) that Minnesota worked out several wide receivers on Friday, including Bennie Fowler, T.J. Jones, and Ryan Grant.
The Giants let go of both Fowler and Jones earlier this week after the duo had combined for only 15 receptions through four games. Most of those catches came via the 28-year-old Fowler, who had spent the past year-plus with the Giants. This is the first reported workout for Fowler. Jones, 27, was a sixth-round pick by the Lions back in 2014. After being cut by the Giants at the end of the preseason, he re-signed with the team in mid-September. Jones has 67 career receptions in 45 games, and he also has some experience returning kicks and punts.
The Raiders released Grant in late September, and he’s since had one workout with the Patriots. The 28-year-old caught four passes for just 14 yards with Oakland this season, although he did snag 35 passes for 334 yards with the Colts in 2018.
This week’s drama out of Minnesota was focused on receiver Stefon Diggs, who is reportedly at odds with the organization. While Minnesota reportedly doesn’t have any plans to trade the star wideout, Diggs said the other day that there was “truth to all rumors.” Diggs might not be the only frustrated wide receiver in Minnesota; Adam Thielen recently complained about the one-dimensional nature of the Vikings offense, prompting quarterback Kirk Cousins to apologize.
Giants Activate Golden Tate
Finally, the Giants will get to utilize Golden Tate. On Tuesday, the Giants announced roster moves to make way for the wide receiver as he returns from suspension. 
[RELATED: Giants’ Ryan Connelly Done For Year]
To clear spots for Tate, and new linebacker Josiah Tauaefa, the G-Men have released wide receivers Bennie Fowler and T.J. Jones. The adjustment leaves the Giants with five active WRs – Tate, Sterling Shepard, Cody Latimer, Darius Slayton, and Cody Core – rather than six.
Tate inked a four-year, $37MM deal with the Giants this offseason as they moved on from superstar Odell Beckham Jr. The hope for GM Dave Gettleman & Co. is that Tate will provide the Giants with the locker room stability and veteran guidance that they were perhaps not getting from OBJ, even though Tate cannot realistically match his production.
Tate’s big debut was stalled in the offseason when he was suspended four games for PEDs. The veteran claims that his positive test was the result of fertility drugs he was taking in an effort to grow his family. Unfortunately for him, he was unable to get the suspension overturned, delaying his 2019 season by a full four weeks.
When Tate joined up with the Giants, he probably assumed that he would be catching passes from Eli Manning. Instead, Manning has been given the hook in favor of No. 6 overall pick Daniel Jones. If they can sync up on Sunday, and if the Giants’ defense can handle the Vikings as well as the Bears just did, the G-Men could advance to 3-2 behind a three-game winning streak.
East Notes: Belichick, Patriots, Jets, Giants
Patriots coach Bill Belichick is known for finding diamonds in the rough. He’s turned MAC quarterback Julian Edelman into a star receiver, and made numerous other brilliant discoveries. The draft apparently isn’t the only place he looks for these unheralded gems, as Zach Cox of NESN.com pointed out in a recent interesting piece. The Patriots are holding joint practices with the Lions right now, and Cox points out that Belichick always uses these joint practices to scout the opposing team’s players for guys he might want to pick up when they’re later cut.
“From 2012 to 2017, New England participated in 11 rounds of joint practices with seven different opponents. In all 11 cases, at least one member of the opposing team went on to sign with the Patriots,” Cox writes. That’s a pretty incredible streak, and it shows that the Patriots are paying extremely close attention during these joint sessions. It’ll be interesting to see which current member of the Lions ends up signing with New England later this year.
Here’s more from the league’s eastern divisions:
- We’ve got the full details on Ryan Kalil‘s contract with the Jets, courtesy of Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The one-year, $8.4MM pact includes a $3MM signing bonus, 2.4MM in base non-guaranteed salary, and a $3.4MM roster bonus. The total guarantee is just the $3MM signing bonus. Kalil recently came out of retirement, and the veteran center’s presence should be a huge boost to the rest of the offensive line and Sam Darnold‘s protection. Even though the majority of his money is non-guaranteed, it would take something truly shocking for him not to end up collecting it all.
- The Giants have had a brutal stretch of luck with their receivers. Just in the past few weeks, Corey Coleman tore his ACL, Sterling Shepard suffered a broken thumb, and Golden Tate was suspended for the first four games of the season. Shepard will likely be back for Week 1, but the options after him aren’t too appealing. As of right now it looks like Cody Latimer will be the second receiver to open the season, while Bennie Fowler will be the third, according to Matt Lombardo of NJ.com. Latimer is a former second-round pick of the Broncos who is looking to reinvent himself with the Giants. He spent last year in New York, catching 11 passes for 190 yards in only six games. Fowler is also a former Bronco who caught 16 balls for 199 yards in his first season with the Giants last year. Eli Manning (or Daniel Jones) won’t be in an easy situation when the season opens.
- In case you missed it, the Dolphins signed former Cardinals first-round pick Robert Nkemdiche
Giants Re-Sign WR Bennie Fowler
The Giants have re-signed wide receiver Bennie Fowler, according to a press release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it’s likely an inexpensive short-term deal.
[RELATED – Giants GM: “We Were Not Actively Shopping” OBJ]
Fowler, a Michigan State product, joined the Giants in October after fellow receiver Cody Latimer was placed on IR. After that point, Fowler appeared in ten games and caught 16 passes for 199 yards, including a touchdown against Washington on Dec. 9. Before joining the Giants, Fowler had 56 receptions and five touchdowns in three seasons with the Broncos. He also spent time with the Bears and Patriots last year, but did not appear in games for either club.
Fowler is a part of the Giants’ new Odell Beckham-less depth chart at WR, which also includes Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard, Corey Coleman, and Latimer.
Giants Place Cody Latimer On IR
The Giants made a slew of roster moves on Tuesday morning. The club signed wide receiver Bennie Fowler and promoted linebacker Ukeme Eligwe and cornerback Grant Haley from the practice squad. Spots were opened for them after the Giants placed wide receiver Cody Latimer (hamstring) and linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong (concussion) on IR and waived cornerback Donte Deayon. 
As Latimer exits, another former Bronco takes his place. Fowler now has a chance to become the fourth player to catch passes from both Peyton and Eli Manning, following Latimer who achieved that milestone on Sept. 16. Fowler has 56 receptions for 598 yards and five touchdowns for his NFL career. He’s perhaps best known for the two-point conversion catch he had in the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 victory. That play also went down as Peyton Manning’s final career pass attempt.
The Giants, who are desperate for a spark, will look to improve upon their 1-5 record when they face the Falcons on Monday night.