August 28th, 2016 at 7:03pm CST by Dallas Robinson
The Chiefs’ roster is now at 81 players after they waived eight today, the club announced. Therefore, Kansas City will need to make six more cuts before Tuesday’s 3pm CT deadline.
Massaquoi, 29 had spent 2012-2014 with the Falcons but did not appear in a game last season. Massaquoi, who signed with the Chiefs in March, has appeared in 39 career games, starting four, posting 45 tackles and six sacks during his career.
In the wake of their three-day rookie minicamp, the Chiefs have made some changes to their 90-man roster, announcing today (in a pair of Twitterlinks) that they’ve four players and cut four others.
Of the incoming players, Nowak is the most notable name. Having been waived last week by the Seahawks, the 26-year-old entered the 2015 season as Seattle’s center, starting seven games at the position before being replaced.
Among the four players cut by Kansas City, Kovacs is the only one with real NFL experience. The ex-Dolphin, who turns 26 next month, appeared in 28 games during his three seasons in Miami, recording 10 total tackles and a sack. When Kovacs saw the field with the Dolphins, it was almost exclusively as a special-teamer.
Outside of Gibson, the rest of the players involved in today’s Chiefs transactions are undrafted free agents. Bernstein and Clarke signed with the club last week, but lost their spots on the 90-man roster to new UDFAs following the rookie minicamp. Edwards, Mayweather, and Sterup played their college ball at Fresno State, Fordham, and Nebraska, respectively.
Here are Wednesday’s minor transactions from across the NFL:
The Cardinals have formally waived four players, including former Australian Rules Football player Joel Wilkinson, the club announced today. Along with Wilkerson, who had been attempting to break into the NFL as a cornerback, center Valerian Ume-Ezeoke, cornerback Kevin White, and cornerback Tyrequek Zimmerman were also cut by Arizona.
The Broncosannounced today in a press release that they’ve cut veteran tight end Richard Gordon, a little over two months after re-signing him to a new contract. It’s the third time Denver has released Gordon since last October.
The Seahawks have parted ways with five players from their 90-roster, according to Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com, who writes that offensive lineman Drew Nowak, running back Cameron Marshall, tight end Ronnie Shields, defensive end Josh Shirley and wide receiver Tyler Slavin have been cut. Nowak is probably the most notable name in the group, having started seven games at center last year for Seattle.
The Lions have waived center Braxston Cave and tight end Casey Pierce, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes. Cave’s was likely bumped by the team’s selection of Graham Glasgow in the draft. Pierce, meanwhile, was a practice squad tight end who had been expected to compete for the No. 3 tight end spot in Detroit.
Clearing room for their undrafted free agent class, the Rams have waived cornerback Eric Patterson, tweets Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. A Ball State product, Patterson saw the field briefly last season for the Rams and Colts.
The Lions waived tight end Jordan Thompson with a failed physical designation, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes. The Ohio product was once expected to be the team’s next long-snapper.
The Chiefs cut wide receiver Fred Williams, as Wilson tweets. Williams, 28, has been on and off of KC’s taxi squad since September of 2014. In January, the Chiefs signed Williams to a future/reserve deal.
Although he has just two career starts under his belt, Brock Osweiler‘s success over the past couple weeks has prompted plenty of discussion about how he’ll fit into the Broncos‘ future plans. One high-ranking executive tells Tom Pelissero of USA Today that it’s a good problem for Denver to have, but cautions that “it’ll be very, very difficult to navigate on multiple fronts.”
“They’re the only ones who are going to know if he’s their guy or not,” another NFL exec said. “But if he lights it up, and he thinks he’s your future, and you’ve already been there with him — I won’t say you’re going to pay him top market (value), but you’re going to have to pay him.”
It’s hard to know how much the Broncos will be willing to invest in Osweiler, or how much value he’ll have, before seeing how he finishes the season. But if he plays well down the stretch, he could command in the neighborhood of $15MM per year, that first executive estimates. Considering they’ll want to avoid using the franchise tag on Osweiler instead of Von Miller, the Broncos will be under some pressure to get something done with the quarterback before free agency, assuming they want to extend him.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s West divisions:
Within his column, Pelissero wonders if offensive coordinators will be popular targets for NFL head coaching vacancies this offseason, since many teams with potential openings have young quarterbacks under contract. One possible candidate is Chargers OC Frank Reich, who confirmed to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he interviewed with Maryland – his alma mater – about the school’s head coaching job before the Terps decided on D.J. Durkin. “With interviews, if they come and when they come, I want to be selective about those things,” Reich said. “But you never want to take them for granted.”
Matt Bowen and Mike Sando of ESPN.com (Insider link) are the latest to break down potential landing spots for quarterback Colin Kaepernick, in the event that the 49ers part ways with him. Both Bowen and Sando identify the Rams as one possibility.
Former Browns general manager Phil Savage believes Kaepernick would probably draw the most interest around the league if Johnny Manziel, Robert Griffin III, and the 49ers quarterback all become available this offseason, as he tells Mark Maske of the Washington Post.
Here are Tuesday’s minor signings, cuts, and other moves from around the NFL, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:
The Seahawks signed tight end Chase Coffman and released center Drew Nowak, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times tweets.
The Patriots claimed running back Trey Williams off waivers from the Cowboys, a source tells Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). In a related move, defensive end Trey Flowers has been moved to IR.
The Broncos waived tight end Richard Gordon and promoted safety Josh Bush from the taxi squad, as Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets.
The Patriots are expected to sign return specialist Damaris Johnson, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It’s a two-year deal for Johnson, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
Earlier Updates:
The Bills created two openings on their 53-man roster with a pair of Monday moves, and opened up a third vacancy by officially placing Kyle Williams on IR today, tweets Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. The move had been expected since last week.
To fill those three spots on their roster, the Bills signed defensive end Lavar Edwards off the Cowboys‘ practice squad, defensive lineman T.J. Barnes off the Jets‘ practice squad, and linebacker Kevin Reddick via free agency, per Rodak (allTwitterlinks). The series of signings helps the team fortify its banged-up defensive line, while also re-adding Reddick, who was cut prior to the regular season.
The Dolphins have re-signed center/guard Jacques McClendon to their 53-man squad as an insurance policy for Mike Pouncey, the team announced today (via Twitter). Pouncey is dealing with a minor foot sprain and is considered day to day for now. Miami waived linebacker James-Michael Johnson in a corresponding move.
The Cowboys have no interest in Fred Jackson at this time, sources tell David Moore of The Dallas Morning News. For now, they plan on going into season with a committee of Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden, and Lance Dunbar, but they haven’t closed the door on adding a tailback either. Jackson, of course, is on the open market after getting cut by the Bills on Monday.
Here’s more from the NFC..
Cowboys COO Stephen Jones admitted that he would pursue a talented tailback if there was a fit, though he said that age is a factor. “If we saw a young running back to add to the mix, we’d certainly look at it,” Jones said, according to Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News (on Twitter).
Evan Mathis is now a Bronco, but he received interest from the Seahawks before he landed in Denver, and according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Seattle wanted to know if the veteran guard could play center. The Seahawks moved Max Unger in the Jimmy Graham trade with New Orleans back in March, and will likely roll with the inexperienced Drew Nowak at center to start the season.
Falcons head coach Dan Quinn confirmed that he has not ruled out signing veteran offensive tackle Jake Long, as Andrew Hirsh of AtlantaFalcons.com writes. “He’s somebody we’ve still talked about for sure,” Quinn said of Long, who auditioned for Atlanta earlier this summer. “(He’s) a guy we have lots of regard for.”
With their season now in the books, the Seahawks have become the latest team to announce their initial wave of reserve/futures signings for 2015. Bob Condotta of the Seattle has the details, tweeting that the club announced 11 signings, with all of those players coming from the end-of-year practice squad. Here’s the complete list of signees, via Condotta (Twitterlinks):
Nine of those signees finished the 2014 season on Seattle’s active practice squad, while Bronson and Warmsley had landed on the taxi squad’s IR list. Of the players who finished the year on the unit, only linebacker Allen Bradford remains unsigned.
September 3rd, 2014 at 8:35pm CST by Zachary Links
Broncos star Von Miller became the latest player to weigh in on J.J. Watt‘s megadeal and he thinks the Texans got away light. “He’s underpaid in my opinion. What he does for the Texans, no one else does that for their organization,” Miller said, according to Lindsay H. Jones of USA Today Sports. “None of the big-time quarterbacks that are getting the big-time deals do. J.J. Watt deserves a similar deal. He does everything on the field, everything off the field. It was well deserved. I think he should have gotten more.” Of course, given Miller’s off-the-field troubles, it’s hard to say what Watt’s deal means for the Denver standout. More out of the AFC and NFC West..
On the eve of their season opener, the Seahawks haven’t given up hope of working out contract extensions with Cliff Avril and/or K.J. Wright, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). La Canfora writes that they’re “exploring options” with both, so agreements aren’t necessarily imminent.
The Broncos tried out long snappers Danny Aiken and Luke Ingram before picking up Kevin McDermott, according to Howard Balzer of USA Today (on Twitter).
Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (on Twitter) wonders if the Rams would have claimed Ryan Griffin if he were available instead of Case Keenum. St. Louis signed Keenum on Monday. Griffin, meanwhile, is back with the Saints on a practice squad deal.
