Steelers Trim Roster Down
The entire AFC North is now finished as the Steelers became the latest team to trim their roster to 53 players. Here are all the moves, we’ll recap the most notable ones at the bottom:
- QB Paxton Lynch
- DL Daniel McCullers
- WR Ryan Switzer
- DB Antoine Brooks Jr.
- RB Kerrith Whyte Jr.
- RB Trey Edmunds
- RB Wendell Smallwood
- WR Saeed Blacknall
- WR DeAndre Thompkins
- WR Deon Cain
- WR Amara Darboh
- OL Christian DiLauro
- OL John Keenoy
- OL Derwin Gray
- OL Anthony Coyle
- OL Jarron Jones
- TE Kyle Markway
- TE Kevin Rader
- DL Cavon Walker
- DL Henry Mondeaux
- DL Calvin Taylor
- LB Tuzar Skipper
- LB Jayrone Elliott
- DB Trajan Bandy
- DB John Battle
- P Corliss Waitman
- LS Liam McCullough
Lynch is probably the most well known of these names. The former Broncos first-round bust signed with the Steelers last year as insurance after multiple quarterback injuries. He’s running out of chances. Switzer has mostly contributed as a returner with Pittsburgh and Dallas, although he did have 36 catches with the Steelers in 2018.
Smallwood was one of the Eagles’ main running backs in 2018, but didn’t get too many touches with Washington last year. He’ll likely pop up somewhere else soon. Brooks Jr. was the Steelers’ sixth-round pick in this past draft, so he’s likely ticketed for the practice squad if he clears waivers.
McCullers has been with the Steelers the past six years so his is a significant departure even though the nose tackle only played 12 percent of the defensive snaps last season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/25/20
Here are today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: DT Trevon Coley
- Re-signed: RB D.J. Foster
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: QB Tyler Bray
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB LeShaun Sims
Las Vegas Raiders
- Re-signed: LB Kyle Wilber
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DE Anthony Zettel
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: OT Jarron Jones (XFL), S Tyree Kinnel (XFL), DT Cavon Walker (XFL)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Re-signed: LB Kevin Minter
Washington Redskins
- Signed: OL Jeremy Vujnovich
Chiefs Cutdown To 53
The Chiefs announced the following moves to get down to an initial 53-man roster. Probably the most surprising move was the release of veteran guard Jeff Allen. The Chiefs drafted Allen in the second-round back in 2012, and he started four games for them last year. He’s made 80 career appearances, with 66 starts.
Here are the rest of the cuts:
Waived/Released:
OL Dino Boyd
WR Jamal Custis
WR Rashard Davis
LB Raymond Davison
WR Jody Fortson
P Jack Fox
LB D’Juan Hines
TE Nick Keizer
QB Chase Litton
DE Rob McCray
CB Herb Miller
OL Pace Murphy
OL Jimmy Murray
OT Chidi Okeke
QB Kyle Shurmur
CB D’Montre Wade
DT Cavon Walker
Waived/injured:
WR Felton Davis
Placed on injured reserve:
Placed on non-football injury list:
NFL Workout Updates: 1/3/19
Today’s workout updates, all courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (on Twitter):
Chicago Bears
- T Dakoda Shepley; G Ethan Cooper; LB Sam Eguavoen; K Ty Long
Detroit Lions
- DEs Avery Ellis, Tony Nelson; LB Sam Eguavoen
Green Bay Packers
- WR Devin Smith
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
- QBs Jon Jennings, Bo Levi Mitchell; WRs Sammie Coates, Greg Ward, Taj Williams; T Dakoda Shepley; LBs Sam Eguavoen, Jameer Thurman
Kansas City Chiefs
- DTs Henry Mondeaux, Cavon Walker; CB DeAndre Elliott
Los Angeles Chargers
- LB Alex Singleton; LS Tanner Carew; K Ty Long; P Shane Tripucka
New England Patriots
- WR Jordan Williams-Lambert
New Orleans Saints
- DE Geneo Grissom; LB Lorenzo Mauldin
New York Jets
- WR Stacy Coley; DE Charles Tapper
Pittsburgh Steelers
- RBs Terry Swanson, Malik Williams; WR Diontae Spencer
Seattle Seahawks
Bears Trim Roster To 53
The Bears have reduced their roster to 53 players by making the following transactions:
Waived:
- T Dejon Allen
- DT Abdullah Anderson
- LB Jonathan Anderson (injured)
- WR Demarcus Ayers
- LS Tanner Carew
- DB Rashard Fant (injured)
- DB John Franklin
- WR Tanner Gentry
- DB Doran Grant
- G Brandon Greene
- LB Ro’Derrick Hoskins
- WR Garrett Johnson
- WR Malachi Jones
- DB Michael Joseph
- DB Cre’von LeBlanc
- DB Jonathon Mincy
- RB Taquan Mizzell
- G Jordan Morgan
- RB Ryan Nall
- DE Elijah Norris
- DB Nick Orr
- G Will Pericak
- TE Colin Thompson
- LB John Timu
- DT Cavon Walker
- P Ryan Winslow
- LB Josh Woods
Released:
- QB Tyler Bray
- RB Knile Davis
- LB Kasim Edebali
- WR Bennie Fowler
- DT John Jenkins
- T Matt McCants
- DE Nicholas Williams
Placed on injured reserve:
- WR Marlon Brown
Bears Bring In 16 UDFAs
The Bears recently announced their undrafted free agent haul. Fifteen players will attempt to stick with the team this offseason. Here’s the full rundown:
- Dejon Allen, OL (Hawaii)
- Abdullah Anderson, DL (Bucknell)
- Rashard Fant, DB (Indiana)
- Garrett Johnson, WR (Kentucky)
- Michael Joseph, CB (Dublique)
- Jeremi Hall, G (South Florida)
- Nyles Morgan, LB (Notre Dame)
- Ryan Nall, RB (Oregon State)
- Elijah Norris, LB (Shepherd)
- Nick Orr, S (TCU)
- Shaq Roland, WR (West Georgia)
- Bunmi Rotimi, DE (Old Dominion)
- Kevin Toliver II, CB (LSU)
- Andrew Trumbetti, LB (Notre Dame)
- Cavon Walker, DL (Maryland)
- Ryan Winslow, P (Pittsburgh)
This haul continues Chicago’s restocking of its linebacking corps, with this quartet vying to join Roquan Smith, fourth-rounder Joel Iyiegbuniwe and UFA addition Aaron Lynch. Interestingly, the Bears have added two members from recent Fighting Irish linebacker rooms in Morgan and Trumbetti. The former had a bigger role, making 91 tackles last season — second-most on the team. Morgan, who also made 88 stops as a junior, underwent shoulder surgery in January.
Nick Orr is Zach Orr‘s younger brother. He was a three-year starter for the Horned Frogs; the now-retired Zach also arrived in the NFL as a UDFA. Roland took three years off of football after being a highly touted South Carolina recruit in 2011. He played three years for the Gamecocks before taking the 2014, ’15 and ’16 seasons off prior to playing at West Georgia last year. Toliver was also an acclaimed high school recruit, coming into LSU as a five-star prospect.
The only player in Oregon State history with three carries for at least 75 yards, Nall was listed at 237 pounds with the Beavers but still averaged nearly seven yards per carry in 2016 (on 147 carries en route to 13 touchdowns). The Bears re-signed incumbent punter Pat O’Donnell, but only to a one-year deal, potentially opening the door for Winslow.