Minor Moves: Saturday
Here are some minor transactions that have occurred this Saturday before the rest of the week two action begins:
- The Bears have promoted three players to their active roster for Sunday’s game against the 49ers, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribute (via Twitter). Receivers Josh Bellamy and Chris Williams will be suited up tomorrow, along with center Taylor Boggs.
- The Vikings have signed running back Joe Banyard off of their practice squad, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Twitter). The team has waived full back Zach Line to make room for Banyard.
- The Patriots have promoted linebacker Deontae Skinner to their active roster, reports Field Yates of ESPN (via Twitter). The team waived linebacker Darius Fleming to make room for the roster move.
Earlier updates:
- The Jaguars have waived fifth-round pick Chris Smith, reports Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter). The defensive end was released to make way for the signing of safety Craig Loston.
- The Raiders have officially promoted linebacker Bojay Filimoeatu from the practice squad to the active roster, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (via Twitter). Wilson originally reported the teams plans to do so yesterday, and it has now become official. Filimoeatu slots in the roster spot that was vacated when the team placed Taiwan Jones on the injured-reserve, according to Wilson (via Twitter).
- The Lions are promoting safety Nate Ness to the active roster, reports Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). Birkett has not played in a game since 2011.
AFC Notes: Rice, Browns, Jaguars
Ray Rice tried to clear the air in a recent press conference, but that won’t stop the NFL from penalizing the Pro-Bowl running back under the league’s personal-conduct policy. The Ravens are prepared for a multiple-game suspension and Rice will meet soon with commissioner Roger Goodell, writes Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun.
Team President Dick Cass spoke on the matter: “I’m assuming he will meet with the commissioner at some point in the near future and make a decision about what discipline, if any, is appropriate. I’m not going to speculate. The commissioner is going to decide that. I’m going to leave it to the commissioner.”
Teammate Torrey Smith added: “You do something that draws attention like this, it deserves punishment. Whatever it may be, whether it’s fines or suspensions, I can’t really say. Something happens like that and, obviously, it doesn’t look good on him on him or the league or the organization. Whatever punishments they dish out, he’ll handle it and we’ll handle it as a team and we’ll accept it.”
Let’s take a look at some more notes from the AFC…
- When asked if the Browns could re-sign Armanti Edwards to be the team’s return man, ESPN.com’s Pat McManamon squashed the idea.
- Excluding Red Bryant and Tyson Alualu, ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco says that Chris Clemons and Andre Branch are the only defensive ends that are locks to make the Jaguars roster. DiRocco believes the competition will ultimately be between Gerald Rivers and Chris Smith, unless the duo outplays Jason Babin in camp.
- DiRocco also points out that there are only seven Jaguars remaining from Gene Smith‘s four drafts.
Draft Signings: Vikings, Chiefs, Eagles, Jags
We’re dedicating full posts to first- and second-round picks who sign their rookie contracts, but we’ll be recapping the remaining mid-to-late round signings in posts like this one. Here are the latest draftees to agree to terms with the clubs that selected them earlier in May:
- Vikings third round pick Scott Crichton tweeted out a picture of himself signing his rookie deal. The Oregon State defensive end racked up 22.5 career sacks in three seasons. With Crichton in the fold, Minnesota has just one unsigned rookie remaining: third-round running back Jerick McKinnon.
- The Chiefs have signed fifth-round quarterback Aaron Murray, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Kansas City is now one player away from locking up its modest six-player draft class, with only first-rounder Dee Ford left to sign.
- Fifth-round safety Ed Reynolds has agreed to terms with the Eagles on his four-year rookie contract, the club announced today (via Twitter). The Stanford product is in line for a signing bonus worth about $184K, per Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap.
- The Jaguars have also signed a fifth-round pick, securing defensive end Chris Smith, tweets John Oehser of Jaguars.com. Smith went three spots ahead of Reynolds, at 159th overall, meaning he figures to receive a slightly larger bonus of about $187K.
- The Bengals inked a pair of draft picks today, signing sixth-round linebacker Marquis Flowers and seventh-round wideout James Wright to four-year deals, says Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). Flowers and Wright are the first two draftees that have reached agreements with the Bengals so far this month.