HEADLINES

Eli Rogers

North Notes: Lions, Packers, Steelers

May 20th, 2018 at 3:47pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Lions are still in need of reinforcements at defensive tackle, and it seems inevitable Detroit will make a free agent addition before the regular season gets underway, as Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes. Although the Lions have already added a few new players to their interior, veteran Sylvester Williams and fourth-round pick Da’Shawn Hand aren’t likely to be full-time contributors. Detroit’s front four ranked in the bottom third of the league in both adjusted line yards and adjusted sack rate, an indication the unit struggled against both the run and pass. Free agents such as Alan Branch and Ricky Jean-Francois could make sense for the Lions given their familiarity with new head coach Matt Patricia‘s defensive scheme, while Johnathan Hankins, while Quinton Dial, Karl Klug, or Frostee Rucker could also speculatively be on Detroit’s radar.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two North divisions:

  • While his contract is currently a matter of discussion, it doesn’t sound as though Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has plans to hang up his cleats any time soon, per Aaron Nagler of PackersNews.com. “It’s sustained greatness I think is what drives me,” Rodgers said (link via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). “It’s to be the best and to be able to choose when I’m done playing. I think as you’ve seen here recently with Jordy [Nelson] but even you go back a few years to whether it’s Julius Peppers or A.J. Hawk or John Kuhn or Brett Favre, the fairy tale ending of starting a career and ending it with the same organization rarely happens. So that’s kind of my goal, is to be able to be indispensable to this organization into my 40s to where you’ve got to keep me around.” Rodgers, 34, is currently signed through the 2019 season, but Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst expects a contract extension to come together relatively soon.
  • Free agent wideout Eli Rogers is likely to re-sign with the Steelers as soon as he’s healthy, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Rogers tore his ACL in January before being non-tendered by Pittsburgh, so it could some time before he regains full use of his knee. Although the Steelers should have more targets up for grabs after trading Martavis Bryant to the Raiders, second-round pick James Washington would be standing in Rogers’ way if he’s re-upped. Rogers, 25, managed 48 receptions from the slot in 2016, but came back to earth with just 16 catches a season ago.
  • The Packers will work out former BYU wide receiver Jonah Trinnaman as a cornerback this week, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. The Jets also plan to audition Trinnaman in the near future, although it sounds like New York will take a look at the ex-Cougar at his natural pass-catching position.While Trinnaman didn’t put up much in the way of production during his collegiate career, he exploded during his pro day with a 4.30 40-yard dash, 12-foot broad jump, and a 40.5-inch vertical jump.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/14/18

March 14th, 2018 at 4:06pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions, with the list being updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:

RFAs

Tendered at the second-round level ($2.914MM):

Tendered at original round level ($1.907MM):

Non-tendered:

ERFAs

Tendered:

Non-tendered:

Steelers’ Eli Rogers Tore ACL Last Sunday

January 19th, 2018 at 5:33pm CST by GregGoldstein

The Steelers will not be playing in the AFC Championship this weekend, but still have an injury to deal with after last Sunday’s game. We have learned that Pittsburgh wide receiver Eli Rogers did tear his ACL on the team’s final drive of their loss to the Jaguars in the divisional round, reports Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Eli Rogers (Vertical)

Rogers, 25, sat as the Steelers fourth receiver on the depth chart for most of the year, but did get a lot more chances in the slot when Antonio Brown went down with an injury in the last two weeks of the regular season. In all, the former undrafted free agent made 18 catches for 149 yards and one touchdown in 14 games. This stands well below his productive 2016 season in which he caught 48 balls for close to 600 yards and three scores.

According to Dulac, head coach Mike Tomlin did not mention the injury in a season ending press conference that took place on Tuesday. However, the wideout will now have all offseason to recover from his torn ACL. He will be a restricted free agent this offseason after signing a three-year contract coming out of college in 2015.

Mike Tomlin Suspended Eli Rogers Vs. Patriots

October 26th, 2016 at 10:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Steelers have struggled all season, and really throughout 2016, to have their starting offense together thanks to injuries and suspensions.

In addition to Ben Roethlisberger‘s injury, the player expected to be Pittsburgh’s primary slot receiver, Eli Rogers, was unavailable against the Patriots last weekend. A source informed Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link) the wideout was serving a Mike Tomlin-issued suspension for an unspecified violation in Week 7.

Rogers missed two games earlier in the season with turf toe and has struggled to make an impact since a solid opening-night performance that saw the newcomer catch six passes for 59 yards and a touchdown, one that came off a deflection. The second-year UDFA who spent last season on IR has 13 receptions for 135 yards this season.

Pittsburgh has featured exactly zero members of the projected statistic-accruing contingent of its starting offense suit up for all seven games.

Roethlisberger remains out due to his recent knee injury, and Le’Veon Bell incurred a three-game drug suspension. Martavis Bryant is suspended for the season, and Ladarius Green began it on the PUP list. Neither Rogers nor Markus Wheaton has been healthy throughout, either.

North Notes: RGIII, E. Rogers, Swanson

September 18th, 2016 at 11:17am CST by Rory Parks

We learned earlier today that a number of veteran Browns scouts who were dismissed prior to the 2016 draft actually preferred Carson Wentz–last seen delivering a sterling debut against the Browns–to Jared Goff. Now let’s take a look at a few notes from the league’s north divisions, beginning with more on the Browns’ quarterback situation:

  • It won’t come as much of a surprise, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III is now expected to miss 10-12 weeks as a result of his shoulder injury, which means that his season could well be over. Even before Schefter’s report, however, it was expected that RGIII would miss the remainder of the 2016 campaign.
  • Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer believes that the Browns will draft a quarterback early in the 2017 draft and that the team will likely have whoever that quarterback is open the season as the starter. As such, Cabot thinks the RGIII experiment is over, even if the team holds an “open competition” in next year’s camp.
  • Steelers wideout Eli Rogers, a former UDFA out of Louisville, seemingly came out of nowhere to post six catches for 59 yards and a score in his debut against Washington last week. Rogers spent all of 2015, his rookie season, on IR, but he has earned the trust of coaches and teammates and is set for an expanded role with the team, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes. Pittsburgh OC Todd Haley is an especially big fan of Rogers, and one member of the organization said Rogers has “kind of been [Haley’s] pet project for a while now and I give him a lot of credit. He’s worked very closely with him and brought him along, and he really thinks he can be an impact guy.” Rogers could be the latest in a long line of receivers not drafted in the early rounds that become an integral part of the Steelers’ offense.
  • Kyle Meinke of MLive.com writes that Lions center Travis Swanson, whom the team selected in the third round of the 2014 draft, has finally begun to show signs of improvement. Swanson’s Week 1 performance against Indianapolis was stellar, and if he can continue along his current trajectory, Meinke says it may be a while before Lions fans see Graham Glasgow, the team’s third round pick in this year’s draft.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/7/15

August 7th, 2015 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Friday’s minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL:

  • With Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman both nursing injuries, the Falcons have bolstered their backfield depth by signing running back Michael Ford, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The LSU product spent some time with the Bears in 2013.
  • Offensive lineman Ben Heenan has been waived by the Colts after suffering an MCL injury, tweets Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. The team reached an injury settlement with Heenan, so he won’t go on the IR if the clears waivers. To replace Heenan, the Colts signed free agent guard Kitt O’Brien.
  • The Chargers have swapped one offensive lineman for another at the back of their roster, waiving rookie Ben Beckwith with an injury designation, and signing undrafted free agent Melvin Meggs, according to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link).
  • Earlier this week, the Texans released offensive lineman Will Yeatman with an injury settlement. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the settlement was worth just over $68K.
  • Wilson also reports (via Twitter) that wide receiver Eli Rogers has been placed on the Steelers‘ injured reserve list after going unclaimed on waivers.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/5/15

August 5th, 2015 at 8:44pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor NFL moves and signings..

  • The Eagles signed rookie free agent linebacker Diaheem Watkins, Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com tweets.
  • The Seahawks announced that they have signed linebacker Dakorey Johnson, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times tweets. Johnson takes the place of linebacker Alex Singleton, who was cut loose earlier today.
  • The Bears have waived/injured tight end Brian Vogler with a foot injury, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets.
  • The 49ers agreed to terms with wide receiver Nigel King, as Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com tweets.

Earlier Updates:

  • The Rams waived wide receiver Devon Wylie, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Falcons waived cornerback Michael Lee and signed nose tackle Derrick Hopkins, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Buccaneers announced (on Twitter) that they have waived long snapper Courtland Clavette.
  • The Panthers signed cornerback T.J. Heath and defensive tackle Kenny Horsley, David Newton of ESPN.com tweets. To make room, Carolina released punter Matt Wile.
  • Washington announced the signings of cornerbacks Bryan McCann and DreQuan Hoskey. McCann, who first entered the league as UDFA with the Cowboys in 2010, has made multiple stops around the NFL. Hoskey, a Virginia product, was in rookie minicamp this summer and made a strong impression on coaches. Washington also cut Phillip Thomas and waived/injured Tevin Mitchel, John Keim of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Steelers signed undrafted rookie wide receiver Kenzel Doe of Wisconsin and waived-injured undrafted rookie receiver Eli Rogers, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets.
  • The Ravens signed defensive tackle Micajah Reynolds and waived defensive tackle Casey Walker, who just came off the PUP list on Monday, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Bears are signing USC tight end Kevin Greene, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets.

Steelers Reach Agreements With 12 UDFAs

May 2nd, 2015 at 9:44pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Steelers have agreed to deals with 12 undrafted free agents, writes Mike Wilkening of Pro Football Talk. Here are the names:

  • Cameron Clear, TE, Texas A&M
  • Nigel Crawford-Kinney, DT, Saint Augustine
  • Dominique Davis, DE, Liberty
  • Miles Dieffenbach, OG, Penn State
  • Reese Dismukes, OG, Auburn
  • B.J. Finney, C, Kansas State
  • Tyler Murphy, QB/WR, Boston College ($4,500 bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
  • Brandon Prate, DE, Illinois State ($1k bonus, per Wilson)
  • Collin Rahrig, OG, Indiana
  • Eli Rogers, WR, Louisville
  • Ross Scheuerman, RB, Lafayette
  • Kevin Whimpey, OT, Utah State