D’Joun Smith

Jets Work Out CB D’Joun Smith

Cornerback D’Joun Smith worked out for the Jets today, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Smith has also auditioned for the Saints and Lions this year.D'Joun Smith (vertical)

[RELATED: Jets Meet With C.J. Spiller]

A former Florida Atlantic defensive back, Smith was placed on IR-DTR by the Colts in his rookie season and wound up seeing time in only four games before being cut. He was in camp with Indianapolis again this offseason but he was waived with an injury designation prior to the 53-man deadline. Still only 23, the Saints are hoping he can help their ailing secondary. In 44 career games at Florida Atlantic, Smith totaled 120 tackles (78 solo), nine interceptions, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, 1.0 sack and 29 passes defensed.

The Jets are healthy at corner, as Darryl Roberts is their only defensive back listed on the injury report (and he was a full practice participant). As such, it’s possible that New York is just updating its emergency list or looking for depth. The Jets’ defensive backfield currently consists of Darrelle Revis, Buster Skrine, Marcus Williams, Juston Burris, and Roberts.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lions Audition Vlad Ducasse, Others

Guards Vlad Ducasse and Josh LeRibeus joined cornerbacks Chimdi Chekwa and D’Joun Smith in trying out for the Lions on Friday, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link).

Vlad Ducasse

The most experienced of the four is the 28-year-old Ducasse, who combined for 78 appearances and 22 starts with three teams from 2010-15. Ducasse, whom the Jets chose in the second round of the 2010 draft, started a career-high 11 games as a member of the Bears last season.

Chekwa spent the first four years of his career with the Raiders, who grabbed him in the fourth round of the 2011 draft. The 28-year-old logged 32 appearances and four starts along the way, though he was out of action in 2015 after the Dolphins cut him from their injured reserve last September. Miami brought back Chekwa to compete for a roster spot over the summer, but he didn’t make it through their final cuts.

Both LeRibeus and Smith are recent third-rounders. LeRibeus went to Washington in 2012, and after accruing little playing time in his first few seasons, he piled up personal bests in appearances (16) and starts (11) last year. The Colts selected Smith a year ago, but he spent time on IR-DTR and only played in four games. Indianapolis then waived the 23-year-old this summer, and he worked out for the Saints on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Saints Work Out CB D’Joun Smith

The Saints are in need of some cornerback help and they’re looking at out-of-house options. Today, the Saints auditioned D’Joun Smith, a 2015 third-round pick of the Colts, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. D'Joun Smith (vertical)

[RELATED: Saints Place CB P.J. Williams On IR]

A former Florida Atlantic defensive back, Smith was placed on IR-DTR by the Colts in his rookie season and wound up seeing time in only four games before being cut. He was in camp with Indianapolis again this offseason but he was waived with an injury designation prior to the 53-man deadline. Still only 23, the Saints are hoping he can help their ailing secondary. In 44 career games at Florida Atlantic, Smith totaled 120 tackles (78 solo), nine interceptions, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, 1.0 sack and 29 passes defensed.

The Saints, of course, are without their top two cornerbacks. Delvin Breaux will be out for more than a month after suffering a broken fibula in the season opener. Then, this week, P.J. Williams was placed on IR after suffering a severe concussion.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/2/16

To cap off a transaction-packed Friday, here are the latest minor moves from around the NFL:

  • The Steelers released former Virginia Tech offensive lineman Wade Hansen, agent Brett Tessler tweets, and waived quarterback Dustin Vaughan with an injury settlement (Twitter link via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).
  • The Colts waived defensive back D’Joun Smith with an injury designation, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. Smith was a third-round pick in 2015.
  • The Lions cut center Gabe Ikard, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
  • The Jets waived safety Dion Bailey off IR with an injury settlement, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Cowboys are releasing linebacker Derek Akunne, according to his agent David Canter (on Twitter). They’ve also waived defensive ends Gerald Dixon and Shaneil Jenkins off IR with injury settlements, Caplan tweets.
  • The Saints waived linebacker Dillon Lee, as Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets.
  • The Falcons will work out an injury settlement with fullback Will Ratelle, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Buccaneers reached an injury settlement with receiver Donteea Dye, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
  • The Seahawks signed long snapper Tyler Ott, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/24/15

Here are Christmas Eve’s minor moves from around the league:

  • The Saints have made a change at the back of their 53-man roster, elevating wide receiver Seantavius Jones from their practice squad and releasing fullback Toben Opurum, per Field Yates of ESPN.com, via ESPN’s Mike Triplett. Triplett speculates that Jones’ promotion might not bode well for the availability of Marques Colston, who hasn’t practiced this week due to a chest injury.
  • The Bengals have promoted cornerback Chris Lewis-Harris from their practice squad, cutting cornerback Troy Hill to create a spot on the roster, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.

Earlier updates:

  • The Giants signed wide receiver Ben Edwards to take Odell Beckham‘s roster spot for this week, Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk reports. A rookie out of Richmond, Edwards was originally waived by the Giants on July 31 after he injured his hamstring.
  • The Colts signed quarterback Stephen Morris off the Eagles’ practice squad and cut cornerback D’Joun Smith to make room, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (on Twitter). A former UDFA from Miami, Morris spent some of 2014 with the Jaguars before being claimed by the Eagles in September. With Andrew Luck and Matt Hasselbeck ailing, Indianapolis remains in need of healthy signal-callers.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/16/15

Today’s minor moves from around the NFL:

  • The Colts announced that they activated cornerback D’Joun Smith from the Injured Reserve/Designated for Return list. Smith, a third round pick in the 2015 draft, was initially placed on IR-DTR on September 18th. In 44 career games at Florida Atlantic, Smith totaled 120 tackles (78 solo), nine interceptions, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, 1.0 sack and 29 passes defensed.
  • The Panthers waived tight end Richie Brockel from injured reserve, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Giants are set to sign offensive lineman Emmett Cleary to the active roster, a source tells Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger. Cleary, 25, spent the first ten weeks of the season on the Giants’ practice squad and he had a strong training camp and preseason. Cleary has also spent time with the Bucs, Colts, Raiders, and Bengals in recent years. To make room, the Giants cut defensive back Tramain Jacobs, as Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News tweets.
  • The Seahawks were awarded defensive tackle A.J. Francis off waivers from the Dolphins, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. To make room, fellow defensive tackle David King was cut loose.
  • The Eagles released Wade Keliikipi from injured reserve, Wilson tweets.
  • Wide receiver Kaelin Clay took to Twitter to announce that the Ravens have signed him off the Lions‘ taxi squad.

Colts Place D’Joun Smith On IR-DTR

It’s been an active day of roster moves for the Colts, who have now made multiple changes to their active roster and practice squad in preparation for their Week 2 game against the Jets. According to a press release, the Colts have placed cornerback D’Joun Smith on the injured reserve list with the designation to return, promoting cornerback Eric Patterson from their practice squad to take Smith’s roster spot.

In addition to those moves affecting the 53-man roster, the club has also cut guard Robert Myers from its practice squad, adding guard David Arkin and cornerback Brandon Dixon to get back up to 10 players (Twitter link).

Several Indianapolis cornerbacks have been sidelined from practices this week with injuries, including Darius Butler, Greg Toler, and Smith, who was selected 65th overall back in May by the Colts. As such, it makes sense that the club would want to add some depth to its secondary to get through this weekend’s game.

A former Florida Atlantic defensive back, Smith was inactive for his first game in the NFL last week, and now he’ll miss at least the next eight weeks of action. The 22-year-old, who is battling a knee injury, will be eligible to return to practice in Week 8, but he won’t see the field in a game until at least Week 11, following the Colts’ Week 10 bye.

Indianapolis becomes the league’s 13th team to use its IR-DTR slot this season. The full recap of how teams have used that designation can be found right here.

Colts Agree To Terms With Two Third-Rounders

The Colts have agreed to terms with cornerback D’Joun Smith and defensive lineman Henry Anderson, their third-round picks from this year’s NFL draft, according to ESPN’s Mike Wells (Twitter link). Smith will get a four-year, $3.5MM deal (800k signing bonus), while Anderson will receive $2.9MM (610k bonus) over four years, Mike Chappell of CBS4 reports (via Twitter).

Smith and Anderson were the last two unsigned picks from the league’s 2015 draft class, meaning all 256 selections from this year are now under contract.

Smith, whom the Colts chose 65th overall out of Florida Atlantic, intercepted nine passes in college and is expected to vie for playing time in a cornerback corps that is shaky after No. 1 man Vontae Davis.

Anderson, who was first-team All-Pac-12 in 2014 before the Colts took him 93rd out of Stanford, could make an immediate impact along Indy’s D-line.

Extra Points: Colts, Galette, Falcons

Colts GM Ryan Grigson recently told Mike Chappell of CBS4 (Twitter link) that there were “language issues” to finalize when it came to deals for cornerback D’Joun Smith and defensive lineman Henry Anderson. Grigson added that there was no reason to believe those contracts wouldn’t get done for the two third-round draftees before August 1st. Smith and Anderson are the only remaining unsigned rookies now that Marcus Mariota and the Titans have reached agreement.

Here are a few more Wednesday evening odds and ends from around the league:

  • NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune that there is no update on outside linebacker Junior Galette‘s status with the Saints, just one week away from the start of training camp. McCarthy said the NFL would not comment or even confirm on whether there was meeting between Galette and league officials. “We consider a meeting a confidential part of the process between our office and the player,” he said.
  • This offseason, the Falcons moved on from veteran running back Steven Jackson and will go with a younger group at the position. D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution takes a look at the group, headlined by Devonta Freeman, a fourth-round pick in 2014 and Tevin Coleman, a third-round pick in 2015.
  • Commissioner Roger Goodell told Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link) on Tuesday that the NFL won’t expand past 32 teams. Interestingly enough, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred recently said that he will at least explore the idea of expansion.
  • The Raiders could use another young player to step up and create depth on the interior defensive line, Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com writes. Still, Oakland did add some size to its line this offseason with the signing of Dan Williams in free agency. C.J. Wilson, meanwhile, is expected to serve as a super-sub for the Raiders.

Pauline’s Latest: Mannion, Grayson, Sample

With day two of the NFL draft getting underway, Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net points out a few players to keep an eye on tonight. Here are the highlights from Pauline:

  • The representatives for Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion are “pretty confident” he’ll come off the board quickly in the second round, writes Pauline. As for Garrett Grayson, there’s a chance he lands in the third round — the Bills and Jets are looking hard at Grayson, and the Rams, Broncos, and Washington are also in the mix.
  • According to Pauline, many people believe Florida Atlantic cornerback D’Joun Smith will be selected in the second round tonight, which would be much earlier than expected.
  • Safety James Sample, who is receiving interest from the Seahawks and Ravens, could also come off the board earlier than anticipated, per Pauline.
  • South Carolina guard A.J. Cann likely won’t last long tonight. The Dolphins would love to nab Cann at No. 47, but the Jets have him graded highly and pick 37th, writes Pauline.