HEADLINES

Drew Butler

Cardinals Sign Marion Grice

September 23rd, 2014 at 11:33am CST by Zachary Links

TUESDAY, 11:33am: The Cardinals have officially confirmed the signing of Grice, announcing that punter Drew Butler has been cut to clear a roster spot.

MONDAY, 5:59pm: The Cardinals are set to sign Marion Grice to a two-year deal, according to Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego (on Twitter). Grice, who was on the Chargers’ practice squad, took his physical this afternoon and passed (link).

In the wake of Danny Woodhead‘s season ending injury, Grice was a candidate to be bumped to the active roster. That won’t be happening, however, as he’ll relocate to the Southwest and help support Cardinals starting running back Andre Ellington. Arizona’s change of pace back Jonathan Dwyer was placed on the reserve/non-football illness list after he was arrested for a July domestic violence incident. The Cards also have newly-signed running back Jalen Parmele on the roster, so it’s not immediately clear where he’ll fit in on the depth chart.

The 6’0″, 204 pound RB averaged 5.7 yards per carry in his two seasons at Arizona State, scoring 25 rushing touchdowns and 14 receiving touchdowns along the way. Grice was selected by the Chargers with the 201st overall pick in the sixth round of the 2014 Draft.

At this moment the Cardinals have five running backs in Ellington, Stepfan Taylor, Robert Hughes, Parmele, and Grice. No corresponding move has been announced yet.

Cardinals Place John Abraham On IR

September 19th, 2014 at 4:18pm CST by Luke Adams

4:18pm: Head coach Bruce Arians indicated today that doctors told Abraham to sit out for a year after his most recent concussion test, tweets Urban. At this point, it seems likely that the linebacker is headed toward retirement, though no official decision has been made yet on that front.

11:29am: Just days after he returned to the club following a brief hiatus, veteran linebacker John Abraham has been placed on injured reserve by the Cardinals due to concussion-related issues, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). According to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter), the team has re-signed punter Drew Butler to take Abraham’s roster spot.

Abraham, 36, suffered a concussion during Arizona’s Week 1 game against the Chargers, and took some time away from the team to consider the possibility of retiring. At that time, Schefter reported that Abraham had been suffering from memory loss during the last year, so it was somewhat surprising when the linebacker returned to the Cardinals this week.

Despite rejoining the club, Abraham didn’t pass concussion tests, so it makes sense that he and the team would make the decision to play it safe and shut him down for the year. Given the veteran’s health issues and age, it’s possible he has played his last NFL snap. Abraham, who is due a base salary of $3MM this season, is in the final year of his contract with the Cards.

The loss of Abraham is the latest blow to a Cardinals defense that has its handful of them so far this year. In addition to seeing linebacker Karlos Dansby head to Cleveland in free agency, the Cards also had defensive lineman Darnell Dockett go down with a season-ending ACL injury and linebacker Daryl Washington suspended for the entire 2014 season. We’ll have to wait to see if the Cardinals attempt to address their pass rush with an outside addition, or whether the club tries to get by with its current in-house options.

Minor Moves: Tuesday

September 16th, 2014 at 4:34pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ve devoted one Tuesday post to the practice squad shuffling being done by teams today, but many clubs around the league are also tweaking their 53-man rosters. We’ll round up a handful of those transactions right here, with new moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:

Earlier updates:

  • In addition to the moves noted below, the Bears have also promoted defensive back Isaiah Frey to their active roster from their practice squad, and cut running back Shaun Draughn, as well as tight end Matthew Mulligan (Twitter link). The series of transactions leaves the club with 52 players on its roster.
  • Former Vikings linebacker and special-teamer Larry Dean has signed with the Bills, the team announced today in a press release. To make room for Dean, Buffalo placed safety Jonathan Meeks on injured reserve with a neck injury.
  • A week after placing tight end Tyler Eifert on IR with the designation to return, the Bengals have placed another tight end on injured reserve, and Alex Smith won’t be eligible to return the season (Twitter link). The team also announced that tight end Kevin Brock has been signed to take Smith’s roster spot.
  • The Bears have promoted practice-squad wideout Rashad Ross to the 53-man roster, cutting receiver and returner Chris Williams to clear room, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter).
  • Linebacker Dan Fox is set to be called up to the Giants‘ active roster from their practice squad, tweets Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News, suggesting that placing Jon Beason on injured reserve may end up being the corresponding move.
  • The Colts announced in a press release that they’ve signed defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles off the Patriots‘ practice squad, waiving running back Dion Lewis to create roster space.

Minor Moves: Monday

September 8th, 2014 at 7:02pm CST by Luke Adams

With the season’s first Sunday in the books, a handful of teams are shuffling their rosters in preparation for next week’s games. Here are the latest minor transactions from around the NFL, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • The Bears have added receiver Greg Herd to the practice squad, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Herd spent time with the team during training camp before he was cut on August 23.
  • The Seahawks have signed cornerback Josh Thomas to take the place of the injured Jeremy Lane, reports ESPN’s Terry Blount (via Twitter). They’ve also made some changes to their practice squad, adding guard Nate Isles and safety Terrance Parks in place of guard David Arkin and safety Josh Aubrey, the club announced today (Twitter link).
  • With Dave Zastudil being bothered by a groin injury, the Cardinals have signed punter Drew Butler, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter).
  • Defensive tackle Christo Bilukidi has been claimed off waivers by the Ravens, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Bilukidi was cut over the weekend by the Bengals.
  • When the Bengals cut Bilukidi, they signed Onterio McCalebb to their active roster, but he lasted just two days — he has been waived, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer, who adds (via Twitter) that the club has also terminated wide receiver Cobi Hamilton from the exempt list of the practice squad.
  • To make room for Bilukidi, the Ravens waived running back Fitz Toussaint, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • The Broncos have cut long snapper Kevin McDermott from their practice squad, tweets Mike Klis of the Denver Post. His spot will be taken by tight end Dominique Davis, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • Tight end Emmanuel Ogbuehi has been replaced on the Browns‘ practice squad by defensive lineman Calvin Barnett, says Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

  • The Bears have signed safety Ahmad Dixon from the Vikings‘ practice squad, cutting cornerback Demontre Hurst to open up a spot on their roster, the team announced today (via Twitter). Dixon was drafted by the Cowboys but was waived by Dallas during preseason roster cutdowns.
  • Offensive tackle Andrew McDonald is also making the move from one team’s practice squad to another club’s 53-man roster, according to agent Brett Tessler, who tweets that his client has a deal with the Seahawks. McDonald had previously been one of the 10 players on the Panthers‘ practice squad.
  • The Bills have cut defensive end Jacquies Smith to make room for Nigel Bradham, who is returning this week from his one-game suspension, tweets ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak.
  • The Seahawks have placed cornerback Jeremy Lane, who is suffering from a groin injury, on their injured reserve list with the designation to return, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • Defensive back Jamarca Sanford, who had been on the Vikings‘ injured reserve list, has been released with a settlement, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
  • The Chiefs have signed wideout Armon Binns to their practice squad and removed cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke from their IR with an injury settlement, per Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links).

Extra Points: Vickerson, Cardinals, Bengals

September 2nd, 2014 at 9:31pm CST by Zachary Links

Former Broncos defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson was brought into Cincy to take a physical for the Bengals but he won’t be signing with them this week, a source tells Mike Klis of the Denver Post (on Twitter). Here’s more from around the league..

  • The Cardinals were busy looking at linebackers today, a source tells Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter): James Anderson, Zac Diles, Moise Fokou, and Yawin Smallwood all worked out for them, according to the source.
  • The Bengals worked out tight ends Kevin Greene and Ryan Otten this week, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
  • The Redskins worked out Chaz Sutton and Derrell Johnson, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
  • In addition to signing Colton Schmidt, the Bills also worked out fellow punters Bobby Cowan and Drew Butler, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

Lions Cut Six Players

August 25th, 2014 at 11:47am CST by Dallas Robinson

The Lions are the latest team announce their roster machinations in advance of tomorrow’s cutdown deadline. The following players have been released, per Tim Twentyman of Lions.com (via Twitter):

Twentyman also tweets that S DeJon Gomes has been placed on injured reserve. With Tavecchio’s release, Nate Freese has won Detriot’s kicking competition.

Lions To Sign Drew Butler

July 25th, 2014 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lions will bring aboard another punter for training camp, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com, who passes along a report from fellow ESPN reporter Adam Schefter (Twitter link). According to Schefter, the team is signing former Steelers punter Drew Butler. Safety Gabe Lynn has been cut to clear a roster spot, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.

Butler, 25, was Pittsburgh’s full-time punter in 2012, averaging 43.8 yards per kick (38.3 net) and ranking as the league’s 26th-best player at the position, according to Pro Football Focus’ metrics (subscription required). Zoltan Mesko won the Steelers’ punting job in 2013 and Butler spent some time with the Bears, but didn’t appear in any regular season games for the team. The Georgia product should get the opportunity to compete with Sam Martin for the Lions’ punting job over the next few weeks.

Minicamp Updates: Jets, Jags, Dolphins, Orton

June 17th, 2014 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

The minicamps being held around the NFL this week are mandatory for players on rosters, but those aren’t the only guys in attendance. Many clubs are also auditioning non-roster players who are hoping to earn contracts and the opportunity to compete in training camp for a regular-season roster spot. Here are the latest updates from minicamps around the league:

Minor Moves: Sunday

May 18th, 2014 at 3:58pm CST by Rory Parks

We will keep an eye on any minor transactions from today and update this post with news of any such transactions (most recent news on top).

  • The Patriots have signed sixth-round cornerback Jemea Thomas, tweets his agency, Universal Sports Management. Thomas played college football at Georgia Tech.
  • The Saints will sign edge player Cheta Ozougwu, who spent the past two seasons with the Bears before being waived about a month ago, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link).

Earlier Updates:

  • The Colts have waived WR Greg Moore and signed WR Ryan Lankford, tweets Craig Kelley of Colts.com.
  • The Bears will release punter Drew Butler, writes Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. The release was confirmed via Twitter by Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune and Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The release leaves the door open for new draftee Pat O’Donnell to become the team’s punter.