Caleb Brantley

Washington Waives Thaddeus Moss, 4 Others

Washington’s Thaddeus Moss UDFA signing generated interest due to the team’s need at the tight end position at the time and the name-brand appeal the LSU alum carried. But Moss did not play last season, spending it on IR. He is now on the waiver wire.

Washington waived the second-generation pro Friday. In addition to the Moss cut, Washington cut defensive lineman Caleb Brantley. The former late-round pick opted out of the 2020 season.

The son of Hall of Famer Randy Moss, Thaddeus was part of LSU’s historically explosive offense in 2019. He joined Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Terrace Marshall Jr. as a key Tigers pass catcher that season, hauling in 47 passes for 570 yards and four touchdowns. Two of those came in the national championship game.

After doctors discovered a fracture in Moss’ foot at the Combine, he missed extensive training camp time. Washington waived him with an injury designation ahead of last season. He spent the season on Washington’s IR list. Although Washington was light at the tight end position going into last season, ex-quarterback Logan Thomas broke through and filled that need.

The Browns drafted Brantley in the 2017 sixth round, but the former Florida Gator has not seen much action as a pro. After recording two sacks in 12 games as a rookie, Brantley has played in just eight over the past three years. Washington also waived wide receiver Emanuel Hall and running backs Javon Leake and Michael Warren on Friday.

2020 NFL Opt Out Tracker

Per an agreement between the NFL and the NFLPA, players with COVID-19 health concerns can opt out of the 2020 season. Initially, the deadline was believed to be Tuesday, August 4. Talks between the league and the union have pushed it to August 6.

Chiefs guard and medical school graduate Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was the first player to officially opt out. Scores of players followed.

Here’s the rundown, so far:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • T Brad Seaton

Tennessee Titans

  • OL Anthony McKinney

Washington Football Team

Free agents

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/23/20

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

Redskins To Move Derrius Guice To IR

For a second straight season, Derrius Guice will land on IR. The Redskins will go in this direction again with their starting running back, John Keim of ESPN.com tweets.

Guice underwent knee surgery earlier this week, J.P. Finlay of NBC Sports Washington notes. The Redskins plan on using one of their IR-return slots on Guice, with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adding this injury was expected to shelve the 2018 second-rounder for 4-6 weeks (Twitter links).

Washington will not be able to redeploy Guice until Week 11. His best hope for the first two years of his NFL career will be playing in eight games. The LSU product missed all of the 2018 season due to a knee injury. While this latest setback damaged his other knee, it will still cap his season at eight games.

It took Guice most of this offseason to recover from the initial knee injury. He experienced multiple setbacks in that recovery. He will be eligible to practice again after six weeks. During that span, the Redskins look likely to reform their 2018 backfield duo of Adrian Peterson and Chris Thompson. Peterson was a healthy scratch in Week 1, but after eclipsing 1,000 yards in 2018, the 34-year-old back looks set to play a key role again. The Redskins also have Wendell Smallwood, whom they claimed off waivers from the Eagles earlier this month.

The Redskins will also place defensive lineman Caleb Brantley on IR, per Keim.

NFC Minor Moves: 9/3/18

There have been plenty of transactions across the league today. While the big names all garnered headlines of their own, there were tons of more under-the-radar signings and cuts as well. Here are all the additional moves from the NFC so far today:

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Browns Make Minor Trade With Saints

The Browns have reached the 53-man roster maximum by making a whole lot of cuts and acquiring one player just before the bell.

On Saturday, the Browns announced that they acquired defensive lineman Devaroe Lawrence from the Saints in exchange for a 2019 seventh-round pick. Lawrence, 26 in October, overcame legal trouble as a youngster to achieve his dream of making it to the NFL. Injuries have held him back in the pros, but the Saints stuck by him even after ACL surgery in December of 2016.

We felt he was athletic, explosive and we felt like he could recover,” said Saints coach Sean Payton (via Luke Johnson of The Times-Picayune). “In other words, he was battling an injury and we saw traits that are hard to find sometimes for defensive tackles, and it’s hard to find that position, especially after the draft.”

So, with Lawrence in the fold, the Browns waived the following 19 players to get down to the limit:

Browns Sign Caleb Brantley

The Browns announced Friday that they have signed sixth-round defensive lineman Caleb Brantley, the seventh member of their 10-player draft class to ink his rookie deal.

[RELATED: Browns Sign Myles Garrett]

Caleb Brantley (Vertical)

While most low-round selections aren’t particularly noteworthy, that’s not the case with Brantley. Soon after the Browns used the 185th pick on the ex-Florida Gator, general manager Sashi Brown acknowledged that Brantley might not play a down for the team. At the time, Brantley was facing an assault charge for an incident that occurred in Gainesville, Fla., last month. Brantley was alleged to have punched a woman in a bar, causing dental injuries, but the charge against him was dropped Wednesday on account of “insufficient evidence,” and it turns out he was actually defending himself against an assault.

Now that he’s officially a member of the Browns, Brantley could prove to be a late-round steal for the club. Brantley had the potential to go as high as Round 2 before his legal troubles, after all, and Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote prior to the draft that he has the talent to become a “defensive force.”

Latest On Browns Draft Pick Caleb Brantley

While the initial police report documenting an April incident involving defensive tackle Caleb Brantley indicated he had knocked a a woman unconscious, new evidence has shown Brantley was in fact defending himself against an assault, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.Caleb Brantley (Vertical)

Brantley, originally viewed as a Day 2 draft pick, eventually fell to Round 6 where he was selected by the Browns. Cleveland wasn’t willing to commit to Brantley pending the results of the investigation, but given that charges against the Florida product have been dropped, Brantley now figures to stick on the Browns roster. However, NFL clubs did have other concerns about Brantley leading up to the draft, including his undersized stature and his maturity level, as Tom Pelissero of USA Today details.

“Based on our information, we understood there was a reasonable chance that the charges would be dismissed,” said executive VP of football operation Sashi Brown in a statement. “As we previously discussed, the allegations made regarding were not something we take lightly.

Caleb understands that we have an expectation and standard for every member of our organization. He’s a talented young man with a great opportunity in front of him. He is now able to move forward and focus on earning a spot on this roster.”

Charges Against Browns’ Caleb Brantley Dropped

The battery charge against Browns rookie Caleb Brantley has been dismissed, his lawyer tells Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). The Florida product was alleged to have punched a woman in a bar, causing dental injuries. The charge was closed due to “insufficient evidence,” per Alachua County Court documents (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). Caleb Brantley (Vertical)

[RELATED: Browns To Sign CB Jason McCourty]

After taking the Florida product in the sixth round, top exec Sashi Brown indicated that his time with the organization would be short lived if the charges stuck. Now, Brantley could have a much clearer path to making the 53-man roster. From a talent perspective, many evaluators viewed the defensive tackle as a first- or second-round pick. However, because of this ugly incident and other perceived character issues, many teams took him off of the board completely. One Florida coach also reportedly warned teams to steer clear of Brantley.

Back on April 13, two witnesses saw Brantley get into a verbal spat with a female patron at a bar. After the woman shoved Brantley due to “crude comments” he made, Brantley was said to have struck the woman in the face, rendering her unconscious and knocking out a tooth. Even though he’s in the clear from a legal perspective, the Browns will likely be keeping a close eye on the rookie’s off-the-field behavior from here on out.

Browns Notes: Peppers, Brantley, Gordon

Jabrill Peppers reported to Browns rookie minicamp but did not practice today because, as an unsigned player, the safety did not sign a participation waiver that would have allowed him to work out without a contract, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. Agent Todd France urged Peppers not to sign the standard participation document, per Cabot.

Peppers encountered a setback after a diluted sample at the Combine resulted in the Michigan talent failing a drug test. By not signing this waiver, Peppers can’t yet be drug tested, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who adds this tactic is quite rare. The participation agreement goes about ensuring a player, should he get injured like Dante Fowler Jr. was two years ago during the Jaguars’ rookie minicamp, would receive the same contract he would have if an injury had not occurred. Florio notes Peppers will be in Stage 1 of the NFL’s substance-abuse program once he signs. Should Peppers fail a test on this tier of the program, he would be upgraded to Stage 2, where suspensions and the loss of game checks could loom.

Here’s more from the Cleveland area.

  • A report from a since-fired ESPN Cleveland contributor Sabrina Parr indicated Peppers was already indulging in drugs upon arriving in Cleveland. Specifically, Parr said during a radio appearance that Peppers was “on the Lean and the Molly,” the former a Codeine-fueled concoction and the latter slang for ecstasy. Peppers denied those allegations today. “Absolutely not, never in my life,” Peppers said, via Cabot. “Whatever drugs she said I’ve done, I’ve never done in my life.” Regarding the diluted sample, Peppers told media today he over-hydrated at the Combine due to a history of cramping. Browns executive VP Sashi Brown called Peppers’ mistake at the Combine “a concern” when asked about it at the Browns’ post-draft press conference.
  • A Browns rookie in facing bigger trouble, Caleb Brantley attended rookie workouts today. He has not been charged for the alleged incident where he’s been accused of striking a woman in the face and dislodging a tooth due to conflicting witness reports. The defensive tackle’s attorneys allege “several women” were verbally abusing their client — with one punching him in the mouth, Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com reports. Brantley’s attorneys say as their 22-year-old client attempted to push away the woman who struck him, his hand made contact with her face. The Browns are conducting their own investigation of the events that occurred at Gainesville, Florida, nightclub last month. Brown said after the draft the team wasn’t certain to keep the sixth-round pick, who remains mired in a legal investigation as well. “I’m looking forward to the facts coming out and the truth about what happened that night,” Brantley said today, via Ulrich. “But I can’t really speak on the legal situation.”
  • Hue Jackson said last year he was ready to move on from Josh Gordon, but Brown said earlier this offseason he was open to the embattled wideout returning. Today, Jackson was noncommittal on the still-suspended pass-catcher’s status with the Browns. “He’s not back, so I don’t even want to really get into that right now,” Jackson said, per Ulrich. “I wish Josh well, and we’ll cross all those bridges when we get there.” The 26-year-old Gordon was denied reinstatement on Thursday. He can reapply in the fall.
  • Isaiah Crowell signed his second-round RFA tender this week.