The Steelersannounced that they have signed offensive guard Cole Manhart to a reserve/future contract. Manhart originally signed with the Eagles as a UDFA out of Nebraska-Kearney in May 2015. After being released by the Eagles, he spent the 2015 training camp with the Saints, but he was cut in September of that year. Prior to his signing with Pittsburgh, his most recent stint was with the Raiders as a member of their taxi squad.
The Panthers inked safety Marcus Ball to a deal, per Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune (on Twitter). Ball ended the season on Carolina’s practice squad.
The Rams signed former Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
The Steelers cut wide receiver David Nelson, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
The Eagles cut Matthew Tucker with a non-football injury designation, Wilson tweets.
NFL’s 2016 free agent period doesn’t officially open until March 9th, but players who didn’t finish the season on a roster – or who have since been cut – are free to work out with teams and sign contracts right away. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle has several updates on those free agents who are visiting and/or auditioning for NFL teams, so let’s round up the latest:
Before he agreed to sign a reserve/futures contract with Washington, former Steelers first-round defensive lineman Ziggy Hood tried out for the Raiders. Oakland also brought in former Fresno State edge defender Tristan Okpalaugo for a visit (Twitterlinks).
Veteran defensive back Jeromy Miles and ex-Broncos tight end Dan Light recently auditioned for the Chiefs (Twitter link). Miles, who has appeared in 67 career regular-season games for the Bengals and Ravens, was cut last September by the Giants, while Light lost his practice squad spot in Denver following the team’s AFC Championship win over New England.
The Bengals recently worked out – but did not sign – offensive tackle Sean Donnelly, safety ZachElias, running back Alonzo Harris, running back Storm Johnson and wide receiver Rico Richardson (Twitter link). Those players were part of a larger group of eight, with the remaining three players earning contracts.
Former Cowboys defensive tackle Ken Bishop, a seventh-round pick in 2014, worked out for the Buccaneers (Twitter link).
Former Pitt offensive guard Jason Pinkston recently visited the Steelers (link). The Steelers also recently worked out linebacker Jordan DeWalt-Ondijo, wide receiver Issac Blakeney, long snapper Matt Dooley, defensive back Montell Garner, offensive guard Cole Manhart, wide receiver Tobais Palmer, cornerback Al-Hajj Shabazz, and defensive tackle Josh Watson (Twitterlinks).
It’s been a busy last couple of days around the NFL, with teams still looking to fill up their squads for the rest of the season. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweeted a whole bunch of workout notes this afternoon, which we’ve compiled for you below…
The Broncos worked out punter Kasey Redfern (link).
The Packers worked out running back Akeem Hunt, wide receiver Donatella Luckett, quarterback Phillip Sims, wide receiver Tyler Slavin, running back Dreamius Smith, linebacker Colton Underwood, and linebacker Matthew Wells (link).
September 1st, 2015 at 3:32pm CST by Zachary Links
5:35pm: After trading Jalen Saunders to the Patriots, the Saints had 14 players to shed prior to today’s deadline. They got the job done and we have the full list of moves, courtesy of The Times-Picayune’s Evan Woodbery.
Claimed Off Waivers:
Sammy Seamster, CB (waived by Dolphins)
Released:
Erik Lorig, FB
Waived:
Antonio Johnson, OL
Lance Lewis, WR
Ronald Powell, LB
Markus Pierce-Brewster, DE
Nick Toon, WR
Terrence Frederick, CB
R.J. Harris, WR
Chris Young, LB
David Hunter, DT
Cole Manhart, OL
Waived/Injured:
Vinnie Sunseri, S
Placed on IR:
Anthony Spencer, OLB
P.J. Williams, CB
3:32pm: The Saints have waived defensive tackle David Hunter and linebacker Chris Young, according to Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune (Twitterlinks). In addition to those moves, New Orleans has waived wide receiver Nick Toon, undrafted rookie receiver R.J. Harris, cornerback Terrence Frederick, (viaTwitterlinks).
Hunter and Young were brought in as a camp fill-ins after the Saints suffered multiple injuries in their first preseason game. Weeks later, it’s not a huge surprise to see both players let go.
MONDAY, 3:52pm: After passing a physical earlier today, Galette has officially been released by the Saints, who also signed tight end Kevin Brock and guard Cole Manhart, waiving center Mike Brewster with an injury designation (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of the New Orleans Times-Picayune).
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the team waited as long as possible to cut Galette in the hopes that the NFL would take action that would allow the Saints to potentially recoup some of the signing bonus money they owed him.
FRIDAY, 1:50pm: Galette must take – and pass – a physical with the Saints before he’s officially released, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, adding that the physical will likely happen this weekend.
1:24pm: In a surprising roster move, the Saints are releasing pass rusher Junior Galette before their training camp gets underway, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
While Galette has provided plenty of value to the Saints on the field over the last two years, recording back-to-back seasons of double-digit sacks, his off-field behavior cost him his job. The former undrafted free agent was arrested on a domestic charge in January, and a report last month indicated that a video has surfaced of a man who appeared to be Galette using force against a woman in a beach brawl.
With Galette making the wrong sort of headlines, and New Orleans’ roster undergoing a significant offseason overhaul, it came as no surprise when winterreports suggested head coach Sean Payton and the Saints wouldn’t have been opposed to moving on from the pass rusher if they could find a taker. However, given the off-field red flags, and the significant chunk of guaranteed money still owed to him, it was equally unsurprising that the Saints were ultimately forced to bite the bullet and simply cut him.
Galette, who turned 27 in March, just signed a lucrative four-year extension with the Saints last September, and has already received more than $17MM in salary and bonus money from the team since then. Having converted Galette’s $12.5MM roster bonus to a signing bonus earlier this year, New Orleans will now have to eat a tremendous amount of dead money to make the 27-year-old go away.
Based on contract information provided by Over the Cap, Galette’s $5.45MM cap hit for 2015 figures to remain unchanged, with the remainder of his prorated bonus money accelerating to the 2016 league year — based on my math, Galette will count for $12.1MM against New Orleans’ ’16 cap.
While Galette will hit the free agent market, that won’t stop the NFL from looking into his off-field behavior and potentially handing out a suspension, which will adversely affect his chances of landing with a new team. Depending on the language of Galette’s contract, I’d also expect the Saints to make an effort to get back some of the bonus money they’ve paid him over the last 12 months.
Galette’s odds of signing with a new team figure to be negatively impacted by his health as well — he’s said to be recovering from a pectoral injury, and won’t go under the knife to repair the damage.
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves from around the NFL, with any additional transactions added to the top of the list throughout the evening:
The Colts signed free agent defensive tackle Jeris Pendleton, according to their official website. The 31-year-old has been a member of the Colts organization since 2013, when he last appeared in a game. He missed all of last season because of a knee injury.
Offensive guard Cole Manhart – whom the Eagles waived Monday – passed through waivers unclaimed, reports Adam Caplan (Twitter link). The Eagles signed Manhart as an undrafted free agent out of Nebraska-Kearney earlier this year.
MONDAY, 3:05pm: The Eagles have officially announced the signing of Moffitt, in a team release. To make room for the unretired guard on the roster, the club has parted ways with another lineman, ColeManhart, who will have to pass through waivers before becoming a free agent.
THURSDAY, 6:03pm: The Eagles will sign recently unretired guard John Moffittto a one-year deal, according to Ross Jones of Fox Sports (on Twitter).
A 28-year-old guard who announced his intention to return to the league June 17, Moffitt started 15 games in 2011-12 with the Seahawks before serving as a depth piece briefly with the Broncos in 2013 and ultimately retiring in November 2013.
After the releases of Todd Herremans and All-Pro Evan Mathisthis offseason,the Eagles had potentially glaring guard issues that Moffitt would have the chance to help cover up. Although in Moffitt’s last two seasons of active duty, 2011 and 2012, he rated as a below-average guard, per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics.
The Broncos, who waived Moffitt before he went unclaimed, traded for the former third-round pick from Wisconsin in 2013 after a deal with the Browns fell through. Midway through the Broncos’ AFC championship campaign, Moffitt walked away due to a lack of passion for the sport, he said at the time. But lingering drug issues came to light as well. Per Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, Moffitt’s recovered from the drug problems that plagued him previously.
