Panthers Reduce Roster To 53
The Panthers trimmed their roster to 77 players yesterday, and it appears that they’ve reached the 53-man limit today (via Max Henson of Panthers.com):
Waived:
- LB Ben Boulware
- LB Zeek Bigger
- OT Blaine Clausell
- DE Bryan Cox Jr.
- DT Eric Crume
- WR Austin Duke
- WR Mose Frazier
- WR Keyarris Garrett
- QB Garrett Gilbert (story)
- DT Toby Johnson
- DE Zach Moore
- S Damian Parms
- CB Jeff Richards
- RB Jalen Simmons
- S Dezmen Southward
- TE Eric Wallace
- DE Larry Webster
Released outright (vested veterans who are not subject to waivers):
- P Andy Lee (story)
- QB Joe Webb (story)
- FB Darrel Young
Placed on IR:
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/2/17
Here are today’s reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2017 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters.
Baltimore Ravens
- WR Kenny Bell
- OL Jarell Broxton
- RB Stephen Houston
- OL Jarrod Pughsley
- OL Matt Skura
- QB Dustin Vaughan
Carolina Panthers
- T Blaine Clausell
- DT Eric Crume
- WR Keyarris Garrett
- CB Tyler Patmon
- RB Jalen Simmons
- TE Scott Simonson
- T Pearce Slater
- T Tyrus Thompson
- TE Eric Wallace
Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC South
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC South 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 Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are noted below.
Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. 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 NFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:
Atlanta Falcons
- Claimed:
- WR Taylor Gabriel (link via Mike Florio of PFT)
- Waived:
- Signed to practice squad:
- DE Nordly Capi
- CB Devonte Johnson
- DT Joey Mbu
- WR J.D. McKissic
- S Sharrod Neasman
- QB Matt Simms
- TE D.J. Tialavea
- RB Gus Johnson (Twittler link via D. Orlando Ledbetter)
- CB Deji Olatoye (Twittler link via D. Orlando Ledbetter)
Carolina Panthers
- Claimed:
- DE Lavar Edwards (Link via PFT)
- Waived:
- DE Wes Horton (Link via David Newton)
- Signed to practice squad
- CB Zack Sanchez (Link via Adam Caplan)
- S Marcus Ball
- LB Brian Blechen
- DT Eric Crume
- WR Keyarris Garrett
- TE Beau Sandland
- RB Jalen Simmons
- DE Larry Webster
- OL David Yankey
New Orleans Saints
- Signed to practice squad:
- OL John Fullington (Link via Josh Katzenstein)
- CB Brian Dixon (Link via Mike Triplett)
- DE Bobby Richardson
- LB Tony Steward
- FB Austin Johnson
- C Jack Allen,
- TE Garrett Griffin
- WR Jake Lampman
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed to practice squad:
- RB Russell Hansbrough (Link via Jim Thomas)
- WR Jeremy Butler (Link via PFT)
- LB Josh Keyes (link via Greg Auman)
- RB Peyton Barber (story via Auman)
- OL Josh Allen
- OL Ben Gottschalk
- CB Javien Elliott
- S Isaiah Johnson
- LB Micah Awe (Link via Auman)
- WR Freddie Martino
Panthers Bring Roster To 53
The Panthers have moved their roster all the way down to 53 by making several cuts, and the NFL announced that guard Chris Scott had been suspended four games for violating the league’s PED policy.
- WR Keyarris Garrett (Twitter link via Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer)
- G David Yankey (Twitter link via Jones)
- DB Marcus Ball
- LB Brian Blechen
- S Travell Dixon
- TE Beau Sandland
- RB Jalen Simmons
- DT Robert Thomas
- DE Larry Webster
- CB Lou Young
- DT Kyle Love
Placed on IR:
- LB Ben Jacobs
- WR Kevin Norwood
- T Jordan Rigsbee
Suspended:
- G Chris Scott
Garrett, a wide receiver out of Tulsa, went undrafted, but he believes that he is the best at his position in the 2016 class.
“I say that all the time,” Garrett told David Newton of ESPN.com earlier this year. “That’s just how I feel. I had the best numbers out of any of the receivers. My numbers don’t lie. “That’s why I felt like I was the best wide receiver.”
Last year, Garrett racked up a nation-leading 1,588 receiving yards off of 96 catches.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/16/16
Today’s minor moves:
- The Raiders signed defensive back Chris Edwards, receiver Joe Hansley, defensive lineman Branden Jackson, running back Jalen Richards, and offensive lineman Torian White, Wilson tweets. Meanwhile, Wilson tweets that the team released defensive end Sheby Harris, cornerback Tony McRae, and safety Tevin McDonald.
- Wilson tweeted a list of Panthers signings: linebacker Jared Barber, tight end Braxton Deaver, cornerback Shaquille Richardson, offensive tackle Jordan Rigsbee, wide receiver Miles Shuler, and running back Jalen Simmons. The team announced that they’ve cut receiver Jenson Stoshak and cornerbacks Brandon Boykin and Ras-I Dowling.
- The Cowboys have cut long snapper Brandon Hartson, tweets Wilson.
Earlier Updates:
- The Broncos have signed linebacker Dekoda Watson to a one-year deal, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com tweets. Watson appeared in three games for the Patriots last year as he was yo-yo’d on and off of the team’s roster.
- Eagles guard/tackle Matt Tobin has signed a two-year deal with the team, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Tobin was previously set to play out this year on his one-year restricted free agent tender. Now, his new deal will lower his base salary for this season.
- Washington waived linebacker Reggie Northrup, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Interestingly, Northrup is represented by rapper Lil Wayne.
- More Washington signings via the team’s website: tackle Al Bond, guard Nila Kasitati, linebacker Mike Wakefield and running back Kelsey Young. Guard Dominick Jackson was waived.
- The Seahawks have waived/injured linebacker Christian French and signed fellow linebacker Khairi Fortt to take his place on the 90-man roster, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times tweets.
- The Bengals are set to sign former University of Buffalo quarterback Joe Licata, as Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News tweets. To make room, rookie quarterback Matt Johnson has been waived.
- The Browns signed defensive back Eric Patterson, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets. The 23-year-old entered the NFL last year as a UDFA with New England. The Ball State product appeared in two games for Indianapolis and one with St. Louis.
- The Bears announced they have signed Donovan Williams, an offensive lineman from Louisiana-Lafayette (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune). The Bears have also released center Dan Buchholz, wide receiver/tight end Marcus Lucas, and wide receiver Nathan Palmer (link).
- The Bears waived defensive end Bruce Gaston, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com writes. Demovsky suggests that Gaston, who made Green Bay’s opening day roster last season, could get another look from the Packers.
- The Chargers have signed former Arizona State guard Vi Teofilo to a three-year deal, a source tells Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego. The 6’3″, 205-pound lineman will look to compete for a practice squad spot. The Chargers waived guard Sebastian Johansson, an undrafted rookie guard from Marshall, in a corresponding move. They also waived-injured linebacker Brock Hekking.
- The Saints waived safety Michael Caputo and quarterback Griffin Neal after this weekend’s rookie minicamp, Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune tweets. According to Wilson (on Twitter), the team has also cut receiver Shane Wynn.
- In a related move, the Saints inked linebacker Tony Steward (Twitter link via Woodbery). Steward played at Clemson and was a fifth-round pick of Buffalo in 2015.
- The Saints signed Jake Lampman, Wilson tweets. The Ferris State product caught 52 passes for 731 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.
Panthers Cut Brandon Boykin
The Panthers have released cornerback Brandon Boykin, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Boykin signed with Carolina in March and received an $80K signing bonus for his two months of employment. As a vested veteran, Boykin is not subject to waivers and is free to sign with any team.
Boykin, 25, was one of the more intriguing cornerbacks to linger on the free agent market in late March. After a visit to Carolina, the two sides shook hands on a low-guarantee, one-year deal. Two months later, he’s once again a free agent.
In 2015, Boykin joined the Steelers, having been sent to Pittsburgh by the Eagles in a trade for a fifth-round pick. However, Boykin played primarily on special teams until the final few weeks of the season — he logged 252 of his 274 regular-season defensive snaps in the Steelers’ last five games.
Despite not seeing significant playing time in Pittsburgh, Boykin ranked as a top-40 cornerback in 2015 (out of 111 qualified players), per Pro Football Focus. The Georgia product has always shown flashes of upside, particularly in his six-interception 2013 campaign, but has never really gotten the opportunity to be a full-time player — he has just seven career starts. He’ll now look elsewhere for his chance to shine.
While Boykin didn’t earn a spot on PFR’s top 50 free agent list, we placed him sixth among free agent cornerbacks when we broke down 2016’s top defensive free agents, placing him ahead of veterans like Leon Hall and Patrick Robinson due to his relative youth and upside.
In addition to Boykin, the Panthers have also waived cornerback Ras-I Dowling and wide receiver Jenson Stoshak , as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. In related news, the team has inked the following tryout players (per David Newton of ESPN.com): tight end Braxton Deaver, running back Jalen Simmons, wide receiver Miles Shuler, offensive tackle Jordan Rigsbee, linebacker Jared Barber, and cornerback Shaquille Richardson.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
