Minor Moves: Tuesday
Tuesday is typically the busiest day of the week during the NFL season for transactions, so we’ll round up several of the day’s less notable 53-man roster changes in this space, adding the latest moves to the top of the list throughout the day:
- After placing defensive tackle Brandon Mebane on injured reserve, ending his season, the Seahawks signed tight end Rashaun Allen to take his spot on the 53-man roster, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Allen had been on the Vikings’ practice squad.
- The Saints have reinstated wide receiver Joe Morgan from his suspension and have a roster exemption for him that expires tomorrow, tweets Howard Balzer of The SportsXchange.
Earlier updates:
- A week after claiming him off waivers, the Bills have let go of safety Jerome Couplin, the team announced today in a press release. As Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets, the team could replace Couplin with a defensive end, since Jarius Wynn wasn’t able to practice today.
- Linebacker Zac Diles has been cut by the Texans, according to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Diles had been signed when Houston was dealing with several injuries at the linebacker position, and it seems he’s no longer needed now that the club is getting a little healthier.
- The Buccaneers have placed rookie guard Kadeem Edwards on their injured reserve list due to a season-ending foot injury, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (via Twitter). The team has yet to announce an addition to the roster, so for now there’s an open spot on the squad.
- The Chiefs have signed tight end Phillip Supernaw to their active roster from the Ravens’ practice squad, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Demetrius Harris broke his foot during the team’s Sunday win over Buffalo, and Anthony Fasano was banged up as well, so more depth at the tight end position was necessary.
- In addition to signing Supernaw, the Chiefs also announced several more roster moves, promoting running back Charcandrick West from their practice squad and placing Harris and running back Cyrus Gray on injured reserve.
- The Browns have reversed a roster move they made a few weeks ago, re-signing fullback Ray Agnew to their active roster and waiving fullback Kiero Small (Twitter link). The team had previously promoted Small to replace Agnew, who was the starting fullback earlier this season.
West Notes: Cards, Chiefs, Seahawks, 49ers
Carson Palmer is expected to miss the remainder of the season after tearing his ACL on Sunday, and while the Cardinals wait for the official word on his injury, the club is assessing its options at quarterback. Drew Stanton will be handed the starting reins, but Arizona will likely want to add some depth behind him, and the team could look to bring in Dennis Dixon, who spent one week on the Cardinals’ practice squad before being cut in mid-October, writes Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Dixon, a Steelers fifth-round draft choice in 2008, has also spent time with the Ravens and Eagles. Currently, the only quarterback on the roster other than Stanton is 2014 fourth-rounder Logan Thomas. Here’s more from the West divisions.
- The Chiefs will probably need to make a few roster moves this week to shore up their offense after a pair of players suffered long-term injuries on Sunday, tweets Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. Third-string running back Cyrus Gray tore his ACL, while reserve tight end Demetrius Harris broke his foot, so Kansas City will likely bring in a couple replacements before next week’s game against the Seahawks.
- The Seahawks’ defense was dealt a blow on Sunday, as head coach Pete Carroll told reporters, including Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times, that defensive tackle Brandon Mebane will “be out for awhile” after pulling his hamstring. Carroll noted the the club will try to get by with players already on the roster, so Tony McDaniel, Kevin Williams, and Jordan Hill could see more playing time.
- NaVorro Bowman has been on the physically unable to perform list for the duration of the season, and the rules of said list state that if he doesn’t begin practicing the day after the Week 11 games, he’ll be ineligible for the rest of 2014. 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh told reports, including Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, that Bowman would return to practice as soon as this week; if so, the club will have a three-week window during which it can activate the 26-year-old linebacker.
- As the only winless team in the league, the Raiders have a lot of work to do in order to turn their franchise around. Matt Williamson of ESPN.com offers a blueprint for Oakland to reverse its fortunes, which includes re-signing defensive tackle Pat Sims and offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski and adding a big-name receiver via free agency.
Sunday Roundup: Manziel, Marciano, Chiefs
As teams try to improve upon their performances from the first week of preseason games, let’s take a look at some links from around the league:
- Citing a team source, ESPN’s Bob Holtzman tweets that Browns‘ rookie QB Johnny Manziel has overtaken Brian Hoyer in the team’s quarterback competition after Manziel’s promising performance in last night’s preseason opener in Detroit.
- Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com believes the NFL will hand down an indefinite suspension for Browns‘ WR Josh Gordon, but he also believes that the league will allow Gordon to apply for reinstatement in less than a year; perhaps after eight games.
- Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that Joe Marciano will serve as the Vikings‘ interim special teams coordinator during Mike Priefer‘s suspension.
- Hays Carlyon of the Florida Times-Union writes that Jaguars‘ QB Chad Henne will continue to work with the first team offense, as the team wants to get Henne into a rhythm before allowing rookie Blake Bortles to get reps with the starters.
- Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer provides five takeaways from the Panthers‘ preseason opener and projects the team’s 53-man roster.
- Larry Holder of the Times-Picayune offers his predictions on the Saints‘ 53-man roster.
- The Falcons are planning to get running back Antone Smith more involved in the offense, writes D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune details what went wrong for the Buccaneers‘ offensive line in the team’s preseason contest against Jacksonville. The unit’s performance prompted Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com to write that Tampa Bay should trade for 49ers’ holdout Alex Boone.
- Adam Teicher of ESPN.com tweets that the Chiefs will look for veteran safety help after the abrupt retirement of Steve Gregory.
- Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star says there is a reason that Cyrus Gray is one of only 16 Chiefs players from prior regimes, but he wonders if Gray will still be on the team when the 2014 regular season opens.