Minor NFL Transactions: 8/15/17
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived from injured reserve: RB/WR B.J. Daniels
Carolina Panthers
- Waived from injured reserve: S Dean Marlowe
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: CB Dejaun Butler, CB John Green, TE M.J. McFarland, WR Corey Washington
- Waived: OL Ruben Carter, WR Javontee Herndon, LB Lucas Wacha
- Waived/injured: TE Connor Hamlett
Detroit Lions
- Placed on injured reserve: DE Kerry Hyder, RB Mike James
- Waived: G Matt Rotheram
- Waived from injured reserve: WR Ryan Spadola
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: DL Shaneil Jenkins
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Justice Liggins
- Waived/injured: RB Dalton Crossan
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed LB Kyle Coleman
- Waived/injured: LB Mike Moore
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: T Sean Hickey, WR Rashad Lawrence
- Waived: T Kwayde Miller
- Waived/injured: WR Francis Owusu
- Waived from injured reserve: WR Jordan Westerkamp
Lions’ Brandon Copeland Done For Season
For the second time in as many days, the Lions have lost a member of their front seven for the remainder of the season. After leaning Sunday that defensive end Kerry Hyder had suffered a torn Achilles, Detroit today lost edge rusher Brandon Copeland to a torn pectoral, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Copeland, 26, doesn’t represent quite the same magnitude of loss as does Hyder, as though Copeland appeared in all 16 games last season, he started only one contest and played fewer than 150 defensive snaps. His main contributions came on special teams, where he appeared on nearly three-quarters of Detroit’s snaps and helped the club finish with a No. 6 ranking in ST DVOA.
Copeland originally signed with the Lions in the spring of 2015 after impressing at the veteran’s combine. Prior to joining Detroit, he’d spent time with the Ravens, Titans, and the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League. Copeland is scheduled to become a restricted free agent next spring, but this unfortunate injury could lead to him being non-tendered in 2018.
Lions DE Kerry Hyder Out For Season
Lions defensive end Kerry Hyder is out for 2017, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Hyder suffered an Achilles tear during Sunday’s preseason game against the Colts and doctors confirmed the injury on Monday morning.
Losing Hyder represents an enormous blow to a Lions defense that was already thin on quality depth at the edge position. Hyder, 26, played 655 defensive snaps a year ago (second-most among Detroit defensive linemen), and posted eight sacks and 36 tackles during that time. Pro Football Focus graded Hyder as the No. 42 defensive end in the league in 2016, the highest rank among Lions edge defenders.
Even with Hyder on board, Detroit’s defense struggled last season. Overall, the unit ranked dead last in DVOA while finishing 21st in adjusted line yards and 25th in adjusted sack rate. If Hyder is sidelined for the year, free agent addition Cornelius Washington, draft picks Jeremiah Ledbetter and Pat O’Connor, plus incumbent Brandon Copeland, could be called on to play more snaps opposite Ezekiel Ansah. Veterans Armonty Bryant and Khyri Thornton, too, should play a larger role once they return from suspension.
If the Lions decide to scour the free agent market for a replacement, there are options available. Dwight Freeney, Eugene Sims, Trent Cole, Paul Kruger, and Mario Williams look like the best true edge rushers, while players such as Tyson Jackson and Jared Odrick are capable of playing both end and tackle.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/17
The latest minor moves…
- Raiders defensive end Denico Autry has signed his RFA tender, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link). The Raiders gave the 2014 undrafted free agent an original-round tender, leading to speculation that he could draw interest from elsewhere. Instead, Autry will return to the Raiders on the heels of back-to-back three-sack seasons. ERFAs Seth Roberts (WR) and Denver Kirkland (G) are also back in the fold, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (on Twitter).
- The Seahawks have re-signed linebacker Kache Palacio, writes Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Palacio, a former fullback who went undrafted out of Washington State last year, spent most of 2016 on Seattle’s practice squad.
- Lions ERFAs Brandon Copeland (DE), Kerry Hyder (DT) and T.J. Jones (WR) have signed their tenders, tweets Birkett. Dolphins ERFAs Mike Hull (LB) and Anthony Steen (C) did the same earlier Monday, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).
Earlier updates:
- The Panthers have re-upped restricted free agent guard Andrew Norwell and a pair of exclusive rights free agents – center Tyler Larsen and punter Michael Palardy – writes Bryan Strickland of their website. Carolina used a second-round tender on Norwell, who will earn $2.746MM in 2017. Norwell combined for 29 starts over the previous two seasons and ranked 11th in performance among Pro Football Focus’ 72 qualified guards last year.
- Steelers RFA cornerback Ross Cockrell has inked his original-round tender, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (Twitter link). Cockrell went in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, so the Steelers would have been entitled to a fourth-rounder had Cockrell signed elsewhere and they elected against matching the offer. The 25-year-old caught on with the Steelers in 2015 and has since totaled 31 appearances, 23 starts and two interceptions. Cockrell started in every Steelers game last year, and his performance ranked an improve 28th among 111 qualified corners at PFF.
- Chiefs RFA kicker Cairo Santos has signed his tender, per Schefter (on Twitter). Santos, undrafted in 2014, received a low tender; as such, Kansas City wouldn’t have been entitled to compensation had he gone elsewhere. The three-year veteran has connected on 84.3 percent of field goal attempts, including 88.6 percent last season (good for fifth in the league).
- Lions offensive tackle Cornelius Lucas has signed his RFA tender, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. The Lions assigned Lucas an original-rounder tender last month, so they wouldn’t have gotten a pick had the 2014 undrafted free agent signed elsewhere and they chose not to match. Lucas is now slated to make $1.797MM this year in Detroit, where he has started in six of 35 career appearances.
- The Buccaneers have re-signed quarterback Ryan Griffin, cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah, tight end Cameron Brate, linebacker Adarius Glanton, and wide receivers Adam Humphries and Freddie Martino, per Scott Smith of the team’s website. As a restricted free agent, Griffin is the only one of the bunch who could have potentially gone elsewhere (the rest were exclusive rights free agents). The Bucs tendered the 2013 undrafted free agent at an original-round level last month, and he’ll now try to win the No. 2 role behind Jameis Winston. Tampa Bay’s previous second-stringer, Mike Glennon, is now the Bears’ starter.
- RFA defensive back Marcus Burley and ERFA running back George Atkinson III are returning to the Browns, per a team announcement. Burley, undrafted in 2013, received an original-round tender. The former Seahawk is coming off his first year in Cleveland, where he appeared in 12 games and played just under 40 percent of the Browns’ special teams snaps.
- Fullback Tommy Bohanon and receiver Larry Pinkard have signed with the Jaguars, tweets the team’s account. Bohanon is the only with NFL experience, having logged 36 appearances and 14 starts as a Jet from 2013-15.
- Speaking of the Jets, they have re-signed linebacker Julian Stanford (via Randy Lange of the team’s site). The Jets could Stanford on Friday, but both sides knew that was only a procedural move. Last season was the first as a Jet for the 26-year-old Stanford, who appeared in nine games (two starts) and played about a quarter of their defensive snaps and a third of their special teams snaps.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/8/17
Unrestricted free agent news will obviously dominate the day, but several clubs also had to make decisions on whether to offer tenders to restricted and exclusive rights free agents. All RFA tenders listed are original round/right of first refusal (worth $1.797MM), and all links go to Twitter:
RFAs:
Tendered:
- Chiefs — K Cairo Santos (per Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star, on Twitter)
- Raiders — DE Denico Autry (via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, on Twitter)
- Ravens — G Ryan Jensen (via Jeff Zreibec of the Baltimore Sun, on Twitter)
- Redskins — LB William Compton
Non-Tendered:
- Titans — RB Antonio Andrews, LB Justin Staples, TE Phillip Supernaw (via Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com)
ERFAs:
Tendered:
- Dolphins — TE Thomas Duarte, LB Mike Hull, CB Lafayette Pitts, C/G Anthony Steen
- Falcons — CB Ricardo Allen, G/DT Ben Garland, S Akeem King (per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on Twitter)
- Lions — DE Brandon Copeland, DE Kerry Hyder, WR T.J. Jones (per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, via Twitter)
Extra Points: Chargers, Vikings, Lions, Giants
The Chargers will wait until after Thursday’s game against the Broncos before considering a head coaching change, a source tells Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Club ownership is thinking through all its options, and the most likely candidate to take over the team in the event that Mike McCoy is fired is offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. Whisenhunt, in his second stint as San Diego’s play-caller, boasts seven-plus years of head coaching experience with the Cardinals and Titans.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- Given that the club has $33MM worth of salaries on injured reserve at the moment, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said he needed a “magic wand” in order to fit new signee Jake Long‘s cap figure, writes Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Spielman, who said Minnesota had less than $50K in cap space before adding Long, claimed he didn’t need to restructure any other contracts to squeeze in the veteran offensive lineman. It’s unclear exactly how the Vikes made financial room for Long (one possibility, from my vantage point, could be tweaking another player’s incentives to “not likely to be earned”), and Krammer reports that Spielman was “vague” about the subject.
- Lions defensive lineman Kerry Hyder has made an agent change. The 25-year-old will now be represented by Select Sports Group (Twitter link). Hyder, who was previously repped by Rich Rosa and Tony Agone, appears to be in the midst a breakout season with five sacks through five games.
- The NFL is now looking into Giants tackle Ereck Flowers after he pushed a reporter after Sunday night’s game, according to a league official who spoke with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). After a poor showing against the Packers, Flowers shoved an ESPN scribe, but has since apologized for the incident.
- With Dallas Thomas cut today, only three members of the Dolphins‘ nine-man 2013 draft class left are Dion Jordan, Jelani Jenkins, and Dion Sims, as Alex Marvez of The Sporting News tweets. Clearly, none of that trio has made a significant thus far in their Miami careers.
Lions Put Travis Swanson On IR
Travis Swanson‘s first season as a full-time starter will end prematurely, with Tim Twentyman of Lions.com reporting the Lions sent their starting center to injured reserve.
Detroit promoted defensive lineman Kerry Hyder from their practice squad to fill the roster spot.
The Lions ruled out Swanson on Friday with a shoulder injury. A second-year player, Swanson started all 14 games for which he dressed after breaking with the first unit in five of 16 games last season.
The former third-round pick beat out trade acquisition Manuel Ramirez for the starting center position but didn’t impress in his first full season up front, according to Pro Football Focus, which rated Swanson as its No. 33 overall center.
An ex-UDFA, Hyder will ascend to the 53-man roster due to Jason Jones entering Week 17 with a doubtful designation. The team opted for Hyder over 2014 fourth-round pick Larry Webster, per Twentyman, as its 11th-hour defensive front call-up from the taxi squad.
Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC North
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC North 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 Bears, Lions, Packers, and Vikings 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 North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
Chicago Bears
- Claimed off waivers:
- G Patrick Omameh (link via Pro Football Talk)
- DB Harold Jones-Quartey (link via Pro Football Talk)
- Cut:
- S Sherrod Martin (Twitter link via Brad Biggs)
- T Jordan Mills (Twitter link via Pro Football Talk)
- Signed to practice squad:
- LB Jonathan Anderson (Twitter link via Biggs)
- RB Paul Lasike (Twitter link via Kevin Fishbain)
- TE Gannon Sinclair (Twitter link via Biggs)
- WR Ify Umodu (Twitter link via Biggs)
- DT Terry Williams (Twitter link via Biggs)
Detroit Lions
- Signed to practice squad:
- C Braxton Cave (link via Tim Twentyman)
- DT Kerry Hyder (link via Tim Twentyman)
- CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport)
- S Isaiah Johnson (link via Tim Twentyman)
- WR Andrew Peacock (link via Tim Twentyman)
- TE Casey Pierce (link via Tim Twentyman)
- DE Larry Webster (link via Tim Twentyman)
- RB George Winn (link via Tim Twentyman)
Green Bay Packers
- Signed to practice squad:
- WR Jared Abrederis (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky)
- LB Carl Bradford (Twitter link via Ryan Wood)
- TE Justin Perillo (Twitter link via Tony Pauline)
- G Matt Rotheram (Twitter link via Demovsky)
- LB James Vaughters (Twitter link via Tom Silverstein)
- T Jeremy Vujnovich (Twitter link via Demovsky)
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed to practice squad:
- DE B.J. DuBose (Twitter link via Chris Tomasson)
- G Isame Faciane (Twitter link via Tomasson)
- WR Isaac Fruechte (Twitter link via Tomasson)
- S Anthony Harris (Twitter link via Tomasson)
- DE Zach Moore (Twitter link via Jeff Howe)
- LB Brian Peters (Twitter link via Tomasson)
- FB Blake Renaud (Twitter link via Tomasson)
- LB Brandon Watts (Twitter link via Tomasson)
- RB Dominique Williams (Twitter link via Tomasson)
- G David Yankey (Twitter link via Tomasson)
Lions Reach 53-Man Roster
The Lions slashed their roster to the 53-man regular-season limit and included a couple of notable names in their cuts.
Veteran defensive lineman Corey Wootton did not make the roster after joining the Lions this offseason. The 28-year-old made 22 starts for the Bears in 2012-13 before serving as a Vikings backup last season.
To make room for Zach Zenner and Tim Wright, respectively, Detroit waived George Winn and Joseph Fauria. After releasing former Boise State star Kellen Moore, the Lions also will go into a season with just two quarterbacks for the first time since 2009.
The remainder of Detroit’s cuts are as follows:
- Al Bond, OL
- Crezdon Butler, DB
- Braxston Cave, OL
- Jermelle Cudjo, DL
- Kerry Hyder, DL
- Emil Igwenagu, RB
- Isaiah Johnson, DB
- Joe Madsen, OL
- Nate Ness, DB
- Casey Pierce, TE
- Xavier Proctor, OL
- Jeremy Ross, WR
- Greg Salas, WR (placed on IR)
- Julian Stanford, LB
- Brian Suite, DB
- Larry Webster, DL
- Torrian Wilson, OL
- Jerel Worthy, DL
North Notes: Browns, H. Smith, Steelers
The 2015 season will likely be a redshirt year for rookie cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Browns head coach Mike Pettine said on Wednesday, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. At one point, Ekpre-Olomu, who continues to recover from a serious knee injury, was viewed as a potential first-round pick, but Cleveland snagged him in the seventh round in May following his torn ACL and disclocated knee. The Browns will have to wait until the end of training camp to move the Oregon alum to injured reserve if they want to avoid the risk of losing him on waivers.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s two North divisions:
- “Nothing is going on” between Harrison Smith and the Vikings on the contract front, according to the safety himself, who tells Mark Craig of the Star Tribune that he and the club will likely discuss an extension after the 2015 season. Smith says he’s “not a fan” of the fifth-year option, which allowed Minnesota to lock him up through 2016. However, the 26-year-old tells Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he fully expects to remain with the Vikings in the long term.
- The Steelers should add Michael Vick to their training camp roster, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who writes that Ben Roethlisberger‘s backups have been “dreadful” in the spring and the early days of camp.
- Former Packers executive Andrew Brandt takes a look at the annual opening of Green Bay’s books, explaining in a piece for TheMMQB.com what the numbers mean for the team and for the NFL.
- Lions defensive ends Corey Wootton, Phillip Hunt, and Kerry Hyder are on the roster bubble as training camp gets underway, writes Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com.