Justin Coleman

Minor NFL Transactions: 4/12/16

Today’s minor moves:

  • Mike Remmers has signed his restricted free agent tender with the Panthers, agent Brett Tessler tweets. The Panthers first acquired Remmers when they signed him off St. Louis’ taxi squad in October of 2014. Looking at how he has improved his value since that point, they might regret keeping him on the practice squad rather than the 53-man roster. Pro Football Focus (sub. req’d) rated Remmers as the 43rd best tackle in the league last season, giving him significantly higher marks for his run blocking than his pass blocking.
  • The Ravens (on Twitter) announced that they have waived tight end Chase Ford. Ford inked his restricted free agent tender just a few weeks ago but his $1.671MM salary was non-guaranteed. It’s possible that Ford has been removed from the roster to make room for Dennis Pitta, who is attempting to return to football in 2016. Pitta and Baltimore agreed to a restructured deal earlier today.
  • The Patriots announced that cornerback Justin Coleman has signed his ERFA tender, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. Coleman made 21 tackles in 10 games (two starts) last season.
  • Giants running back Orleans Darkwa signed his ERFA tender, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Giants cut linebacker Nico Johnson with a failed physical designation, according to Wilson (Twitter link). New York had elevated Johnson off its practice squad at the tail end of last season.

ERFA Signings & Decisions: 3/7/16

Here are today’s transactions involving exclusive rights free agents:

  • The Falcons have tendered safety Ricardo Allen, reports Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Allen started in 14 of 15 appearances last season, amassing 68 tackles and three interceptions. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranked his performance 46th out of 88 qualifying safeties.
  • Cornerback Charles James has re-signed with the Texans, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The 25-year-old appeared in nine games for the Texans last season, logged one start and totaled 19 tackles. They’ve also re-signed offensive lineman Jeff Adams, tweets Tania Ganguli of ESPN. Adams started in both of his 2015 appearances.
  • The Patriots will tender corner Justin Coleman, per Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). Coleman made 21 tackles in 10 games (two starts) last season.
  • The Bengals have re-signed center T.J. Johnson, according to their official Twitter account. Johnson appeared in 12 games last season.

Patriots Place Bryan Stork On IR-DTR

The Patriots’ starting center has landed on injured reserve with the designation to return, according to Brian McIntyre, who tweets that New England used the IR-DTR slot on Bryan Stork, who is suffering from a concussion. With the newly-created roster opening, the Pats signed cornerback Justin Coleman off the Seahawks’ practice squad.

Stork, 24, emerged as the Patriots’ starting center just four weeks into his rookie season in 2014, and finished the year there. Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required) suggested that Stork’s performance was somewhat up and down, but most of his worst performances came during the first half of the season.

Now that Stork has landed on injured reserve with the designation to return, he won’t be eligible to practice for six weeks, and he’ll have to wait at least eight weeks to return to game action. In the interim, Ryan Wendell and rookie David Andrews look like the strongest candidates to replace him.

By our count, the Pats become the ninth NFL team to use their short-term IR spot before the season gets underway. To catch up on how other clubs have used their IR-DTR slots, be sure to check out our tracker.

Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC West

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC West 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 Cardinals, 49ers, Seahawks, and Rams are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. 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 West transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Arizona Cardinals

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed to practice squad (link via Matt Maiocco):
    • WR DiAndre Campbell
    • CB Marcus Cromartie
    • RB Kendall Gaskins
    • DT Kaleb Ramsey
    • OLB Marcus Rush
    • NT Garrison Smith
    • QB Dylan Thompson
    • OG Andrew Tiller (Twitter link via Matt Barrows)
    • S Jermaine Whitehead (Twitter link via Barrows)

Seattle Seahawks

St. Louis Rams

  • Signed to practice squad:

Extra Points: RGIII, Panthers, Cassel

Washington head coach Jay Gruden is confident that backup quarterback Robert Griffin III will receive medical clearance and be ready for Week 1, writes Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.

“He’s got to see the independent neurologist one more time early this week,” said Gruden.

Gruden recently stripped the starting job from Griffin, who suffered a concussion in the preseason, and awarded it to Kirk Cousins. If healthy, it’s no lock RGIII will even be Washington’s No. 2 QB. Gruden wouldn’t commit to it when asked, according to Smith. That role could go to Colt McCoy instead, which would leave RGIII as a third-stringer.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • Despite their shortage of viable wide receivers, the Panthers are not interested in free agent James Jones, according to Joe Person of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
  • The Texans have contemplated adding another quarterback in the wake of third-stringer Tom Savage‘s season-ending shoulder injury. But they have no interest in free agent Matt Cassel, whom Buffalo cut on Saturday (Twitter link via John McClain of the Houston Chronicle).
  • Speaking of the Texans, one of their ex-players, wideout Damaris Johnson, will work out for the AFC South rival Titans, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). The three-year veteran played in all 16 games last season and totaled career bests in receptions (31), yards (350) and touchdowns (one).
  • The Titans will work out linebacker Diaheem Watkins on Tuesday, according to agent Jeff Jankovich (via Twitter). Watkins, an undrafted rookie out of UAB, was a victim of Philly’s roster cuts Saturday.
  • Rookie cornerback Justin Coleman, whom the Patriots signed Friday, also had interest from other teams, tweets Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. He worked out for the Seahawks on Wednesday, which came after Minnesota cut him a week ago.

Patriots Jettison 11 Players

Reggie Wayne indeed appears among the contingent of cut Patriots, per the team’s official website, but the team’s wide receiver depth chart took another hit, at least from an experience standpoint amid the moves the Super Bowl champions made Saturday.

Brandon LaFell will begin the season on the PUP list, meaning the earliest the veteran can debut Oct. 25 at the earliest. A foot injury kept the starting wide receiver out of training camp, and it likely leaves New England to once again rely on the underwhelming Danny Amendola in the starting lineup.

The Patriots also waived Jonas Gray, he of the four-touchdown performance last season before an alarm clock-related practice absence halted the runner’s momentum.

They cut tight end Asante Cleveland and wideout Jalen Saunders, both of whom they traded for recently, notes Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (on Twitter).

The rest of New England’s cuts are as follows:

  • Justin Coleman, DB
  • Xzavier Dickson, LB
  • Darius Fleming, LB
  • Brandon King, S
  • Robert McClain, CB
  • Zach Moore, DL
  • Daxton Swanson, DB

Patriots Cut Ryan Lindley, Sign Justin Coleman

The Patriots have cut quarterback Ryan Lindley, according to Howard Balzer of TheSportsXchange (Twitter link). Additionally, they’ve signed free agent cornerback Justin Coleman, reports Mike Kaye of First Coast News (via Twitter).

Lindley, whom the Patriots signed last month, was hoping to earn a backup role behind Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo. However, he became superfluous to the Pats when Brady’s four-game suspension regarding his role in DeflateGate was overturned Thursday.

The 26-year-old Lindley was a sixth-round pick of the Cardinals in 2012 and has nine regular-season appearances under his belt. He tossed two touchdowns against 11 interceptions in those nine contests and is best known for starting Arizona’s playoff loss to Carolina last January. He completed 16 of 28 passes for just 82 yards, a touchdown, and two picks in the Cardinals’ 27-16 defeat.

Coleman went undrafted out of Tennessee this year and subsequently signed with Minnesota, which released him Sunday.

Vikings Trim Roster To 75 Players

TUESDAY, 9:10am: The Vikings are now down to 75 players, having waived/injured quarterback Mike Kafka, according to the team (Twitter link). He’ll land on the team’s injured reserve list if he clears waivers.

MONDAY, 2:13pm: The Vikings have announced two more moves today, removing another two players from their active roster. According to a team release, Minnesota has waived/injured tackle Carter Bykowski, who will be out for the year with a pectoral injury, and placed cornerback Josh Robinson on the reserve/PUP list, meaning he’ll miss at least the first six weeks of the season.

SUNDAY, 6:30pm: The Vikings have moved closer to securing their 75-man roster, announcing that they’ve cut 11 players:

  • Joe Banyard, RB
  • Brandon Bostick, TE
  • Jalil Carter, CB
  • Justin Coleman, CB
  • DaVaris Daniels, WR
  • Stephen Goodin, OT
  • Josh Kaddu, LB
  • Jordan Leslie, WR
  • Caesar Rayford, DE
  • Chrishon Rose, DT
  • DeMarcus Van Dyke, CB

They currently have 78 men on the roster, and will need to cut an additional three players in time for the Tuesday deadline.

Vikings To Sign 10 Undrafted Free Agents

The Vikings are the latest team to announce their 2015 undrafted free agent class, having come to terms with 10 rookies. Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune (Twitter link) has the full list, which we’ll pass along right here, accompanied by bonus info from Ben Goessling of ESPN.com:

  • Justin Coleman, CB, Tennessee
  • DaVaris Daniels, WR, Notre Dame ($10K bonus)
  • Tom Farniok, C, Iowa State
  • Anthony Harris, S, Virginia ($10K bonus, plus $10K guaranteed salary)
  • Taylor Heinicke, QB, Old Dominion ($10K bonus, plus $10K guaranteed salary)
  • Jordan Leslie, WR, BYU
  • Gavin Lutman, WR, Pittsburg State ($7.5K bonus)
  • Blake Renaud, FB, Boise State
  • Jesse Somsel, G, Saginaw Valley State
  • Bobby Vardaro, G, Boston College ($2K bonus)