Damion Square

Chargers Re-Sign Damion Square

The Chargers have re-signed nose tackle Damion Square, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). It’s a two-year deal.

Damion Square (featured)

An undrafted free agent from Alabama in 2013, Square had brief stints with the Eagles and Chiefs before joining the Chargers in 2014. He made his debut with the Bolts in 2015 and has since logged 17 appearances and eight starts. Career highs in games (11) and starts (seven) came in 2016 for Square, who played 362 defensive snaps and posted personal bests in tackles (13) and sacks (2.5). His performance last year ranked a decent 58th among Pro Football Focus’ 127 qualified interior D-linemen.

Now that he’s staying with the Chargers, the 28-year-old Square will continue to function as depth behind Brandon Mebane and Corey Liuget. His emergence last season came after Mebane suffered a biceps injury.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/10/16

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Jaguars activated cornerback Aaron Colvin to the 53-man roster and released fourth-year veteran cornerback Dwayne Gratz, as John Oehser of Jaguars.com tweets. Colvin had been serving a four-game suspension for violating the league’s PED policy.
  • The Chargers have activated defensive lineman Damion Square, who like Colvin had been serving a four-game ban, the club announced. To create a roster spot, San Diego placed linebacker Nick Dzubnar on injured reserve.
  • The Saints waived offensive lineman Tyrus Thompson from injured reserve, reports Nick Underhill of The Advocate (Twitter link). Thompson has bounced from roster to roster since being chosen in the sixth round of the 2015 draft, but has never appeared in a regular season game.
  • The Browns waived offensive lineman Anthony Fabiano and officially placed center Austin Reiter on injured reserve, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com (Twitter link).
  • After promoting him on Saturday, the Bears have once again waived cornerback Demontre Hurst, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. The club announced that they’ve promoted De’Vante Bausby from the practice squad to the active roster.

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:

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.

Chargers Move Roster To 53

The Chargers have trimmed their roster down to 53 by making the following moves:

  • OLB Ben Gardiner (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune)
  • CB Trevor Williams (Twitter link via Gehlken)
  • WR Dom Williams (Twitter link via Gehlken)
  • FB Chris Swain (Twitter link via Gehlken)
  • WR Rasheed Bailey (injured)
  • QB Mike Bercovici
  • T Brett Boyko
  • RB Gus Johnson
  • S Adrian McDonald
  • ILB Shaq Petteway (injured)
  • OLB James Vaughters

Reserve/Suspended:

Exempt

  • DE Joey Bosa

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/24/16

Today’s minor moves from around the NFL:

  • Chargers defensive tackle Damion Square has been suspended for four games by the NFL for a substance abuse violation, as Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Square was a restricted free agent San Diego initially elected not to tender during the offseason, but the team later re-signed him to a cheaper one-year deal. The 27-year-old played in six games last year and started in one after being promoted from the practice squad in November.
  • The Jaguars cut running back Jonas Gray from IR via injury settlement, as Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union tweets.
  • The Eagles announced that they have waived wide receiver Hunter Sharp with an injury settlement.
  • The Chargers have reached an injury settlement with wideout Rico Richardson, per Wilson (Twitter link).
  • The Ravens and defensive back Sam Brown have reached an injury settlement, according to Wilson (via Twitter).

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/11/16

Here are the minor moves on Day 3 of free agency.

  • Defensive tackle Josh Mauro signed his exclusive-rights free agent tender with the Cardinals, ArizonaCardinals.com’s Darren Urban tweets.
  • The Chargers are set to re-sign defensive lineman Damion Square on a one-year, per Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (on Twitter). Square was a restricted free agent San Diego elected not to tender, but re-signed him anyway, per Gehlken (on Twitter). The 27-year-old Square played in six games, starting in one, for the Chargers last season after being promoted from the practice squad in November.

RFA Tender Decisions: 3/9/16

Unrestricted free agent news will obviously dominate the day, but several clubs also had to make decisions on whether to offer tenders to restricted free agents. We’ll round up those decisions here:

Tendered

Non-Tendered

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/4/15

With the 2015 trade deadline now behind us, NFL teams will have one less tool at their disposal to try to upgrade their rosters. We can expect plenty more signings and cuts in the coming weeks though. Here are today’s minor transactions from across the league:

  • The Raiders have signed receiver and return man Marcus Thigpen, according to Bill Williamson of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Thigpen, who has already spent time with the Bills and Colts this season, will get a chance to take over return duties in Oakland.
  • The Browns have placed tight end Rob Housler on injured reserve, promoting defensive back De’Ante Saunders from the practice squad to replace him on the roster, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). Housler caught just one pass for the club before seeing his season derailed by a hamstring issue.
  • After moving Clinton McDonald to their injured reserve list on Tuesday, the Buccaneers have added another defensive lineman, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Lawrence Sidbury. Sidbury, who initially joined the Bucs last December, has never been an NFL starter, but appeared in 48 games for the Falcons in the first four years of his career.
  • The Chargers announced a slew of roster moves on Tuesday, and they capped that series of transactions today by promoting defensive lineman Damion Square to their 53-man roster, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Square is one of four new players on San Diego’s roster this week.
  • Having cut running back Joseph Randle on Tuesday, the Cowboys signed running back Trey Williams off Washington‘s practice squad to fill the hole in the backfield, according to Rapoport (via Twitter). Williams, who has yet to see a regular-season snap, figures to fight Rod Smith for the No. 3 role behind Darren McFadden and Christine Michael.
  • The Steelers have elevated cornerback Doran Grant from their practice squad to the active roster, waiving QB/WR Tyler Murphy in a corresponding move, the team announced today.

Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC West

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC West teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, and Chargers are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s AFC West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Denver Broncos

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Signed:
    • OL Jah Reid (link)
  • Claimed off waivers:
  • Cut:
  • Signed to practice squad:

Oakland Raiders

San Diego Chargers

  • Signed to practice squad (press release):
    • TE Alex Bayer (Twitter link via Jim Thomas)
    • CB Greg Ducre
    • WR Javontee Herndon
    • G Michael Huey
    • LB Ryan Mueller
    • S Adrian Phillips
    • QB Brad Sorensen (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken)
    • RB Dreamius Smith
    • DT Damion Square

Chargers Announce Cuts, Trim Roster To 53

The Chargers are the latest team to officially announce the roster moves that will get them down to 53 players. The team confirmed a couple of previously-reported veteran cuts, kicker Nick Novak and wideout Austin Pettis, and also announced the trade that sent Jeremiah Sirles to Minnesota for sixth-round selection in the 2016 draft.

Here are the rest of the club’s moves, via a press release:

Waived:

  • CB Richard Crawford
  • CB Greg Ducre
  • WR Javontee Herndon
  • G Michael Huey
  • S Johnny Lowdermilk
  • CB Jordan Mabin
  • LB Ryan Mueller
  • TE Brian Parker
  • S Adrian Phillips
  • CB Lowell Rose
  • RB Dreamius Smith
  • QB Brad Sorensen
  • DT Damion Square
  • G Kenny Wiggins

Waived/injured:

  • LB Chi Chi Ariguzo
  • LB Colton Underwood

Released:

  • TE John Phillips

Reserve/suspended:

  • TE Antonio Gates
  • G Craig Watts