HEADLINES

Brad Wing

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/14/16

April 14th, 2016 at 6:26pm CST by Zachary Links

Raiders restricted free agent Neiko Thorpe signed his tender today, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The 26-year-old defensive back had a career season in 2015, compiling career-highs in tackles (40), passes defended (six), and interceptions (one) while starting two of his 14 games.

The rest of today’s minor moves:

  • The Patriots re-signed running back Tyler Gaffney, as Wilson tweets. .Gaffney was injured throughout his two seasons with New England
  • The Seahawks have signed ERFA cornerback DeShawn Shead, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Colts announced that restricted free agent tight end Jack Doyle has signed his qualifying offer. Doyle has spent the last three seasons with the Colts after being claimed off waivers from Tennessee in September 2013. The Western Kentucky product has played in 47 career games (seven starts) and caught 35 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns.
  • Washington announced the waiving of outside linebacker Jackson Jeffcoat, as Tarik El-Bashir of CSNMidAtlantic.com tweets.
  • The Broncos cut tight end Nick Kasa with a non-football injury designation, Wilson tweets.
  • The Giants signed ERFA punter Brad Wing, Wilson tweets.
  • The Broncos signed exclusive-rights free agent center Matt Paradis, as Wilson tweets.
  • The Patriots have waived linebacker/special teamer Eric Martin, Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com tweets.

ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/4/16

March 4th, 2016 at 6:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we rounded up the latest decisions on restricted free agent tenders. Now, we’ll shift our focus to the day’s exclusive-rights free agent tenders, for players with fewer than three years of NFL experience. here’s the latest:

Giants Acquire Brad Wing From Steelers

September 4th, 2015 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

11:32am: The Steelers will get a conditional seventh-round pick for 2016 in exchange for Wing, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

10:41am: Shortly after having released veteran punter Steve Weatherford, the Giants have identified his apparent replacement. According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), the team has worked out a trade with the Steelers, acquiring punter Brad Wing in exchange for a late-round draft pick.

Wing, 24, punted 61 times for the Steelers in his rookie season in 2014, recording 43.7 yards per punt and a net average of 38.6 yards. Pro Football Focus wasn’t overly high on the LSU product’s performance, ranking him 28th out of the league’s 32 regular punters, with a -7.6 grade (subscription required).

Because he was only an exclusive rights free agent in the offseason, Wing is on a minimum salary deal, which works out to $510K for a player with his experience. His contract expires at the end of the 2015 season, but he won’t be able to hit the open market if the Giants want to keep him, since he’s set to be an ERFA again.

Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News first reported that the Giants were discussing a Wing deal with Pittsburgh.

Giants Cut Steve Weatherford

September 4th, 2015 at 10:35am CST by Luke Adams

10:35am: According to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter), the Giants are discussing acquiring punter Brad Wing in a deal with the Steelers, though nothing is finalized yet.

10:20am: The Giants appear to be on the lookout for a new punter, as Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports reports (via Twitter) that the club has parted ways with veteran Steve Weatherford. New York also cut Robert Malone earlier this week, so the latest move leaves the team without a punter on its roster.

Weatherford, who turns 33 in December, spent the first five years of his NFL career with a handful of different teams before finding a more permanent home with the Giants in 2011. The Illinois product has been the team’s punter for each of the last four seasons, ranking 25th out of the league’s 32 qualified players at the position in 2015, per Pro Football Focus’ data (subscription required).

Earlier in the week, head coach Tom Coughlin strongly hinted that outside help would likely be brought in to challenge Weatherford for the Giants’ punting job this year.

“Well, there’s a game to go, and it’s going to be a competitive thing,” Coughlin said. “Not necessarily with the guys that are here. That goes for any position. Any position. People have to understand that. You’re not competing just against the guys here, you’re competing against the waiver wire.”

Steelers Re-Sign Brad Wing

January 23rd, 2015 at 4:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Steelers have locked up punter Brad Wing for another season, signing him to a one-year contract extension, the team announced today in a press release. After spending his first full NFL season in Pittsburgh in 2014, Wing had been eligible for exclusive rights free agency, meaning he could only sign with the Steelers, unless the team let him go.

Wing, who turns 24 next week, punted 61 times, recording 43.7 yards per punt and a net average of 38.6 yards. Pro Football Focus wasn’t overly high on the LSU’s performance, ranking him 28th out of the league’s 32 regular punters, with a -7.6 grade (subscription required).

Because he was only an exclusive rights free agent, Wing is unlikely to receive more than the minimum salary, which will be $510K for a player with his experience. There may also be a signing bonus in the deal, but it would be very modest.

Here are Friday’s other minor moves from around the NFL, with any additional minor transactions added to the top of the list throughout the day:

  • The Cowboys have signed defensive end Lavar Edwards and safety Keelan Johnson to reserve/futures contracts, as Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning News writes. Edwards spent time on the Cowboys’ active roster and practice squad this season, while Johnson, who is scheduled to be sentenced next month for an aggravated assault charge, last played for the Eagles in 2013.
  • Defensive end Sam Montgomery has signed a new deal with the Bengals, according to the NFL’s transaction wire. Montgomery spent the entire 2014 season on Cincinnati’s practice squad after being waived by the team at the end of the preseason.

Earlier updates:

  • The Jets‘ first free agent signing under new GM Mike Maccagnan is offensive tackle Sean Hooey, who inked a reserve/futures deal, according to the team (Twitter link). Hooey was cut by the Rams at the end of the 2014 preseason, and briefly landed on the team’s practice squad before being released from that unit as well.