The Chargers are signing tight end Jeff Cumberland, Adam Caplan of SiriusXM tweets. He was with the Bolts until the 53-man deadline in early September.
Cumberland, 30, missed the entire 2016 season with a torn Achilles. He’s now being called on to support top tight ends Hunter Henry and Antonio Gates. His addition may result in either Sean McGrath or Sean Culkin being shown the door.
Cumberland is a blocking specialist, but he did catch 78 passes for the Jets from 2012 to 2014. He also started 38 games for the team in that span and scored ten touchdowns. In 2015, his offensive usage dipped as Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t use his tight ends much. The veteran had just five receptions on 14 targets in that season.
Barner seemed to have a decent chance of cracking the roster as a pass-catching back, particularly after the loss of Danny Woodhead. On 27 carries last season, Barner averaged a career-best 4.8 yards per attempt.
Clemens, 33, was slated to return for a fourth season as Philip Rivers‘ backup. Instead, that job will go to Cardale Jones, who was acquired in a trade with Buffalo earlier this offseason.
The Chargers are expected to re-sign veteran tight end Jeff Cumberland, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Cumberland is looking to get back on track after missing the entire 2016 season to injury.
Cumberland, 30 in May, signed a one-year, minimum deal with the Chargers last offseason. Unfortunately, the ex-Jet suffered a torn Achilles in August, ending his season before it could begin.
Always viewed as more of a blocker than a receiving threat, Cumberland caught a total of 78 passes for the Jets from 2012 to 2014, starting 38 games for the team during that stretch and recording 10 touchdowns. However, he saw his number called a whole lot less in 2015, as Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t use his tight ends much. Cumberland had just five receptions on 14 targets in that season.
The kind of role the Bolts have in mind for Cumberland remains to be seen. Already, the Chargers have young standout Hunter Henry and Antonio Gates atop the TE depth chart with 6’5″ athletes Sean McGrath and Asante Cleveland in support. Cumberland’s deal might not include any guaranteed cash, so his spot on the 53-man roster is far form a certainty.
August 22nd, 2016 at 5:23pm CST by Dallas Robinson
Today’s minor moves:
The Chargers have officially placed tight end Jeff Cumberland on injured reserve after he tore his Achilles last week, the club announced today. To fill out their roster, San Diego agreed to sign defensive back Michael Lee.
The Jets have moved wide receiver Titus Davis from the exempt/left squad list to the reserve/retired list, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Jets head coach Todd Bowles said earlier this month that Davis had opted to retire.
The Broncos have waived former Colorado State guard Sam Carlson, Mike Klis of 9NEWS tweets. Carlson was removevd from the roster in order to create a spot for Henry Melton, who was signed yesterday.
The Buccaneers announced that they have signed tackle Kyler Kerbyson and waived/injured tackle Kelby Johnson. Kerbyson, an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee, was waived by the Patriots earlier this month. The Buccaneers also waived linebacker Cassanova McKinzy.
The Eagles have waived linebacker Deontae Skinner, the club announced. Skinner appeared in seven games for Philadelphia last year, but his roster spot will now go to veteran ‘backer Stephen Tulloch.
The Patriots have waived rookie cornerback V’Angelo Bentley, per a team announcement.
The Packers announced that they’ve released offensive lineman Matt Rotheram and long snapper Jesse Schmitt from their injured reserve list.
The Colts have signed wide receiver Justin Berger and waived fellow pass-catchers Andrew Opoku and Marcus Leak, the team announced.
August 20th, 2016 at 4:12pm CST by Dallas Robinson
Chargers tight end Jeff Cumberland will miss the entire 2016 season after tearing his Achilles in Friday’s night preseason game against the Cardinals, as Cumberland himself announced on Instagram (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune).
Cumberland, 29, agreed to a one-year, minimum salary benefit deal with San Diego earlier this year after being released by the Jets in early March. The Bolts drafted tight end Hunter Henry in the second round of the draft two months after signing Cumberland, so the veteran likely would have been relegated to quite a bit of special teams duty had he made the squad. Indeed, Chargers tight end coach John McNulty said in June that Cumberland was “still carving out” his role as he competed with Sean McGrath, Asante Cleveland, and Tim Semisch.
Always viewed as more of a blocker than a receiving threat, Cumblerand caught a total of 78 passes for the Jets from 2012 to 2014, starting 38 games for the team during that stretch and racking up 10 touchdowns. However, he saw his number called a whole lot less in 2015, as Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t use his tight ends much. Cumberland had just five receptions on 14 targets in 2015.
Cumberland wasn’t the only Charger to go down in last night’s contest, as Gehlken also reports (Twitter link) that seventh-round rookie Donovan Clark suffered a torn ACL on Friday and will be out for the season. Clark, an offensive lineman out of Michigan State, had been expected to compete for a backup role, or perhaps spend time on the practice squad.
6:10pm: The Chargers are expected to sign tight end Jeff Cumberland, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. Cumberland also drew interest from the Patriots before signing with San Diego.
Cumberland, 29 in May, was released by the Jets prior to the start of free agency in an effort to free up cap space. As a vested veteran, Cumberland immediately became a free agent upon his release and did not have to go through waivers. The tight end caught a total of 78 passes for the Jets from 2012 to 2014, starting 38 games for the team during that stretch and racking up 10 touchdowns. However, he saw his number called a whole lot less in 2015, as Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t use his tight ends much. Cumberland had just five receptions on 14 targets in 2015.
Now, Cumberland will likely serve as a run-blocking complement to star tight end Antonio Gates. The Chargers currently have five tight ends under contract with Gates, Cumberland, Sean McGrath, Tim Semisch, and Asante Cleveland.
On Wednesday, the Patriots worked out tight end Jeff Cumberland and wide receiver Mike Williams, according to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe (Twitterlinks). Williams, a Syracuse product, is not to be confused with the former Lions first-round pick who shares his name.
Cumberland, 29 in May, was released by the Jets prior to the start of free agency in an effort to free up cap space. As a vested veteran, Cumberland immediately became a free agent upon his release and did not have to go through waivers. The tight end caught a total of 78 passes for the Jets from 2012 to 2014, starting 38 games for the team during that stretch and racking up 10 touchdowns. However, he saw his number called a whole lot less in 2015, as Ryan Fitzpatrickdidn’t use his tight ends much. Cumberland had just five receptions on 14 targets in 2015.
Williams, a Buffalo native, signed with the Bills prior to the 2014 season and was expected to bolster the team’s passing game after the departure of Steve Johnson. Instead, he compiled just 142 yards and one touchdowns on eight receptions in 2014. Williams was reportedly unhappy in Buffalo and, in December of that year, the Bills decided to cut ties with him. Aside from a workout with the Giants in October of 2015, we haven’t heard much about the former fourth-round pick in recent months.
The Jets have opened up some additional cap space by releasing tight end Jeff Cumberland, according to Seth Walder of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). The move will create $1.9MM in cap savings, since that was the amount of Cumberland’s base salary, which was non-guaranteed.
Cumberland, 28, caught a total of 78 passes for the Jets from 2012 to 2014, starting 38 games for the team during that stretch and racking up 10 touchdowns. However, he saw his role in the offense significantly reduced last season, as Ryan Fitzpatrick rarely looked to throw to his tight ends. Cumberland had just five receptions on 14 targets in 2015.
Because he’s a vested veteran, Cumberland will immediately become a free agent with the ability to sign anywhere else once the move is made official by the Jets. New York, meanwhile, may be in the market for tight end help this offseason, even with Jace Amaro returning from a season-ending injury.
Bills running back LeSean McCoy had been scheduled to meet with Philadelphia district attorney Seth Williams at his office this afternoon at 4:00pm eastern time, per multiple reports. But when word of that meeting got out, it was canceled, according to John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com (Twitterlinks), who says McCoy’s lawyers wanted to avoid a media circus and were upset that the news was leaked.
According to a report from ABC 6 Action News in Philadelphia, however, the meeting hasn’t been canceled — it has just changed venues. Action News indicates that the meeting between McCoy (or perhaps just his lawyers) and the district attorney is happening now. Williams is reportedly still weighing whether to press charges against McCoy and his companions for a nightclub altercation that took place earlier this month.
Here’s more from across the NFL’s East divisions:
Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz, coming off a lost season, is set to make $8MM in 2016, but the club seems unlikely to bring him back at that price. Jordan Raanan of NJ.com polled several league sources and found that the general consensus was that the Giants should try to slice Cruz’s salary in half, perhaps giving him some incentives on a one-year deal in the $3-4MM range.
The secondary will be an area of concern for Washington this offseason, according to John Keim of ESPN.com, who says that there’s no doubt cornerback Chris Culliver will return to the team for 2016. Culliver’s one-game suspension in 2015 gave Washington the opportunity to void his guaranteed money for 2016, but the club doesn’t plan to remove the guaranteed portion of his deal, says Keim.
Paul Schwartz of the New York Post explores whether the Giants could afford to roll the dice on defensive end Noah Spence if the Eastern Kentucky pass rusher is on the board at No. 10 in the draft.
The organization has expressed significant confidence in Cumberland heading into the 2014 season. After signing with the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Illinois, Cumberland finally began to show flashes of prominence in the tail end of the 2013 campaign. Although he had played largely in a secondary role to Kellen Winslow this past year, Cumberland still hauled in 26 receptions for 398 yards and four touchdowns.
