NFL Workout Updates: 12/4/18
Here is the latest from the workout circuit. All links to NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account, unless otherwise noted.
Arizona Cardinals
- LB Jonathan Anderson, WR Daniel Braverman, WR Malachi Dupre, OT Justin Evans, LB Josh Keyes, LB Korey Toomer
Buffalo Bills
- WR WR Da’Mari Scott (visit)
Carolina Panthers
- OT Isaiah Battle, S Quin Blanding, WR Daryl Boggan, LB Jonathan Celestin, S Marwin Evans, LB Kennan Gilchrist, TE DeAndre Goolsby, DT Woodrow Hamilton, CB Bryce Jones, WR Andre Levrone, S Kai Nacua, DE Whitney Richardson, QB Brogan Roback, CB Henre’ Toliver, RB Terron Ward, LB Antwione Williams, OT Darrell Williams, DE Jonathan Wynn
Detroit Lions
- RB Mack Brown, RB Demario Richard, RB Justin Stockton
Green Bay Packers
- S Tray Matthews, LB Dadi Nicolas, DE Ja’Von Rolland-Jones, S Jason Thompson
Indianapolis Colts
- WR Tanner McEvoy, WR Jordan Veasy
Kansas City Chiefs
Miami Dolphins
- LB James Burgess, LB Sam Eguavoen, LB Corey Nelson
New York Jets
Oakland Raiders
Pittsburgh Steelers
- RB Joel Bouagnon, RB Kenneth Farrow
Washington Redskins
- OG Zac Kerin, OG Chris Scott
Giants Lock In 53-Man Roster
The Giants will head into the 2018 season without one of their longest-tenured players and one of their 2017 starting safeties, with both Mark Herzlich and Darian Thompson failing to make the team.
A 2017 fifth-round pick, edge defender Avery Moss missed out as well. As did Roger Lewis, a wideout who became needed when the Giants became decimated at receiver last season.
The Giants also released recently signed cornerback Leonard Johnson, who was trying to make a fifth NFL franchise’s 53-man roster. The former Buccaneer, Patriot, Panther and Bill started seven games with Buffalo last season.
Here’s the full list of Giants cuts:
Released:
Waived:
- DB Andrew Adams
- OL Malcolm Bunche
- WR Marquis Bundy
- DL Tyrell Chavis
- WR Jawill Davis
- TE Garrett Dickerson
- WR Amba Etta-Tawo
- DL A.J. Francis
- DB Grant Haley
- LB Mike Jones
- OL Zac Kerin
- K Marshall Koehn
- DB Warren Long
- DL Izaah Lunsford
- LB Calvin Munson
- TE Ryan O’Malley
- RB Jhurrell Pressley
- WR Kalif Raymond
- WR Alonzo Russell
- WR Travis Rudolph
- OL Victor Salako
- RB Jalen Simmons
- DB Orion Stewart
- DL Robert Thomas
Waived with an injury designation
Placed on IR:
- OL Nick Becton
- OL Nick Gates
Placed on Reserve/NFI list:
- DL R.J. McIntosh
Suspended:
- DL Josh Mauro
Giants Sign Six, Cut Six
The final draft choice of Jerry Reese‘s tenure as Giants GM has been released. Offensive lineman Adam Bisnowaty was handed his pink slip on Monday, along with linebacker Derrick Mathews, tight end Stephen Baggett, and cornerbacks Brandon Dixon, Bryon Fields, and C.J. Goodwin. To fill those spots, the G-Men signed cornerback Chris Lewis-Harris, guards Chris Scott and Malcolm Bunche, running back Robert Martin, defensive back Mike Jones (Temple) WR Alonzo Russell (Toledo)
Bisnowaty was the Giants’ sixth-round pick in 2017 and spent the majority of last season on the practice squad. The 6’6″ athlete played tackle at Pittsburgh, but the Giants were using him at guard in practice. It looked like he might have had a shot at sticking as an interior lineman on this year’s roster, but that did not pan out.
In other Giants news, former first-round pick Ereck Flowers reported to the team on Monday morning. Things have been strained between the Giants and the tackle, to say the least, but the team is apparently intent on keeping him and seeing what he can do at right tackle.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/11/17
Monday’s minor moves from around the NFL:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Philip Wheeler
- Waived: LB Scooby Wright
Carolina Panthers
- Released with injury settlement: WR Brenton Bersin, C Gino Gradkowski, OL Chris Scott
- Waived with injury settlement: S L.J. McCray
Denver Broncos
- Promoted from practice squad: DT Tyrique Jarrett
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LB Nick Bellore
- Waived: OT Storm Norton
Los Angeles Chargers
- Promoted from practice squad: WR Geremy Davis
- Waived: CB Jeff Richards
Minnesota Vikings
- Released with injury settlement: QB Taylor Heinicke
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Adam Bighill
New York Jets
- Released with injury settlement: LB Corey Lemonier
- Waived with injury settlement: WR Lucky Whitehead
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Released with injury settlement: S Jordan Dangerfield
Panthers To Release OL Chris Scott
The Panthers will release offensive lineman Chris Scott and place fellow offensive lineman Gino Gradkowski on injured reserve, according to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links).
Both Scott (four) and Gradkowski (three) made starts for Carolina last season, but the Panthers will instead go with youth along the interior of their offensive line. Carolina, which boasts one of the league’s best guard/center trios in Trai Turner, Andrew Norwell, and Ryan Kalil, will roll with Tyler Larsen and second-round rookie Taylor Moton as its reserve offensive linemen. Amini Silatolu has a chance to make the squad, as well.
Scott — who missed the past two weeks with a concussion, reports Person — signed a one-year, minimum salary benefit deal over the offseason, so the Panthers will incur a small total ($80K) in dead money by releasing him.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/14/17
Today’s minor moves:
- After originally non-tendering him as a restricted free agent, the Packers have re-signed linebacker Jayrone Elliott to a one-year, $1.6MM deal, according to Peter Schrager of FOX Sports (Twitter link) and Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. The original round tender is worth $1.797MM, so Green Bay will retain Elliott — who played on 40% of the club’s special teams snaps in 2016 — at a slightly cheaper rate. Before re-signing with the Packers, Elliott took free agent visits with the Bills and Steelers.
- The Panthers announced that they’ve re-signed reserve offensive lineman Chris Scott to a one-year pact. Scott, 29, has appeared in 43 games during his four-year run in Carolina, and started four contests last season. In sum, he played on roughly a quarter of the Panthers’ offensive snaps in 2016, and chipped in with 64 special teams plays. Scott has agreed to minimum salary benefit contracts in the past several seasons, and likely inked a similar deal for the 2017 campaign.
- The Browns announced they’ve claimed wide receiver James Wright, whom Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Twitter link) yesterday reported had been waived by the Bengals. Wright, a former seventh-round draft pick, is entering the final season of his rookie deal. Afflicted by a nagging knee injury, Wright managed to appear in only 24 games with the Bengals, primarily serving as a special teams player during that span. The 25-year-old will now reunite with former Cincinnati offensive coordinator Hue Jackson in Cleveland.
- The Seahawks announced that they’ve re-signed defensive back Neiko Thorpe, whom the club originally acquired from Oakland last offseason. While Thorpe didn’t play much on defense (just 97 snaps), he did see a good deal of time on special teams, where he managed over half the club’s plays.
- The Buccaneers have a new long snapper, as they’ve agreed to sign Garrison Sanborn to one-year deal after working him out today, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. Sanborn, 31, had appeared in 128 games for the Bills from 2009-16, but was released last week. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, recently non-tendered restricted free agent long snapper Andrew DePaola, who is recovering from an ACL tear.
- The Rams have signed long snapper Andrew East, per Field Yates of ESPN.com. East, 25, went undrafted in 2015 and has since spent time with Oakland, Seattle, and Kansas City. As Yates notes, Los Angeles already has a Pro Bowl long snapper in Jake McQuaide, so East will merely be an emergency option.
- The Chargers have waived linebacker Brock Hekking, tweets Yates. Hekking joined the Chargers as an undrafted free agent out of Nevada in 2015, but has yet to appear in an NFL game.
- The Ravens have withdrawn their restricted free agent tenders to cornerback Jumal Rolle and safety Marqueston Huff, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Both players were tendered at the original round level ($1.797MM), but those tenders are non-guaranteed. As such, Rolle and Huff are now unrestricted free agents, and Baltimore has cleared about $3.6MM in cap room.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/8/16
Here are today’s minor moves.
- Offensive lineman Chris Scott will return to the Panthers‘ 53-man roster after the team activated the previously suspended blocker, Max Henson of Panthers.com tweets. The defending NFC champions made room for the sixth-year player — and fourth-year Panther — by waiving fellow offensive lineman Tyler Larsen.
- C.J. Wilson‘s odyssey through roster fringes continued Saturday, with the Bears again cutting the journeyman defensive lineman. Chicago released Wilson and promoted cornerback Demontre Hurst from its practice squad, Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com tweets. The Bears cut Wilson two weeks ago before re-signing him; the seventh-year defensive lineman hasn’t played in a game yet this season. He’s spent time with the Raiders, Lions, Saints and Bears since last season. Hurst’s promotion coincides with corner Deiondre’ Hall being out, per Rich Campbell of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter).
- The Patriots signed defensive tackle Woodrow Hamilton off their practice squad, Doug Kyed of NESN.com reports (on Twitter). Hamilton could become the Pats’ third defensive tackle against the Browns, with third-round rookie Vincent Valentine nursing a back injury and only four DTs listed on the roster.
- The Lions signed outside linebacker Steve Longa off their practice squad in a busy day of transactions, Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com tweets. A rookie UDFA, Longa spent time with the Seahawks earlier this offseason. He and now-activated Armonty Bryant take the roster spots of Aaron Dobson and offensive lineman Brian Mihalik. DeAndre Levy remains out as well, creating a need at the position.
14 Players Returning From Suspension
Fourteen players will return from four-game suspensions this week, according to Howard Balzer (Twitter links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). The most high-profile returnee, of course, is quarterback Tom Brady, who will re-join the 3-1 Patriots on Sunday against the Browns.
The following players have completed their suspensions:
- QB Tom Brady, Patriots
- DL Armonty Bryant, free agent (waived by the Browns today)
- CB Jalen Collins, Falcons
- LB Aaron Colvin, Jaugars
- DT Marcell Dareus, Bills
- T Seantrel Henderson, Bills
- DE Arthur Jones, Colts
- DE Demarcus Lawrence, Cowboys
- LB Aaron Lynch, 49ers
- DE Rob Ninkovich, Patriots
- G Chris Scott, Panthers
- DL Damion Square, Chargers
- T Zach Sterup, free agent
- TE Darren Waller, Ravens
The club that employs each player will receive a short roster exemption that ends the day following the team’s Week 5 game. that means the 49ers’ exemption for Lynch ends Friday, the Panthers’ exemption for Scott ends next Tuesday, and the rest end next Monday.
Sterup, meanwhile, was on the Chiefs’ practice squad when he was banned, but he hasn’t completed the PED reinstatement requirements, according to Balzer. So although he can sign with a new club, Sterup can’t practice or play until he’s approved by the league.
Panthers Bring Roster To 53
The Panthers have moved their roster all the way down to 53 by making several cuts, and the NFL announced that guard Chris Scott had been suspended four games for violating the league’s PED policy.
- WR Keyarris Garrett (Twitter link via Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer)
- G David Yankey (Twitter link via Jones)
- DB Marcus Ball
- LB Brian Blechen
- S Travell Dixon
- TE Beau Sandland
- RB Jalen Simmons
- DT Robert Thomas
- DE Larry Webster
- CB Lou Young
- DT Kyle Love
Placed on IR:
- LB Ben Jacobs
- WR Kevin Norwood
- T Jordan Rigsbee
Suspended:
- G Chris Scott
Garrett, a wide receiver out of Tulsa, went undrafted, but he believes that he is the best at his position in the 2016 class.
“I say that all the time,” Garrett told David Newton of ESPN.com earlier this year. “That’s just how I feel. I had the best numbers out of any of the receivers. My numbers don’t lie. “That’s why I felt like I was the best wide receiver.”
Last year, Garrett racked up a nation-leading 1,588 receiving yards off of 96 catches.
Panthers Cut Dwan Edwards, Nate Chandler
1:13pm: The Panthers have made two more roster moves today, re-signing one offensive lineman and cutting another. According to a pair of team releases, Carolina has let go of Nate Chandler and re-signed Chris Scott.
Chandler, 26, started 19 games up front for the Panthers in 2013 and 2014, but missed the entire 2015 campaign due to a knee injury. His release saves the team $1.5MM in cap room, reducing his cap charge from $1.7Mm to $200K.
As for Scott, he has seen the occasional start for the Panthers in recent years, but primarily acts as a depth piece on the offensive line and a contributor on special teams. He inked a one-year deal to remain in Carolina.
11:03am: The Panthers have made their second defensive line cut of the day, announcing in a press release that they’ve parted ways with veteran defensive tackle Dwan Edwards. Earlier this morning, the club released defensive end Charles Johnson.
[RELATED: Panthers release defensive end Charles Johnson]
Edwards, who will turn 35 in May, joined the Panthers in 2012, and started 14 games for the team, recording 52 tackles and a career-high six sacks. Since then, the former second-round pick has transitioned to more of a situational role, starting just three games in the last three seasons.
In 2015, Edwards recorded 13 tackles and a sack in 445 defensive snaps, with Pro Football Focus ranking him 113th out of 123 qualified interior defensive linemen. In his preview of the Panthers’ offseason, PFR’s Dallas Robinson suggested Edwards could be on the chopping block if the team wanted to get a little younger on its D-line.
By releasing Edwards, the Panthers trim his cap hit from $2.1MM to $500K in dead money, creating $1.6MM in savings. Taking into account Johnson’s release and Jared Allen‘s retirement, Carolina has now saved more than $20MM in 2016 cap room as the team’s defensive line undergoes an overhaul.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.