Kurtis Drummond

Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC South

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC 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 Texans, Colts, Jaguars, and Titans 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 AFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Claimed off waivers:
  • Cut:
  • Signed to practice squad (via press release)

    • OLB Daniel Adongo
    • G David Arkin
    • WR Quan Bray
    • WR Duron Carter
    • T Ulrick John
    • S Dewey McDonald
    • ILB Josh McNary
    • CB Eric Patterson
    • DT Jeris Pendleton
    • TE Erik Swoope

Jacksonville Jaguars

  • Signed to practice squad (via press release):

    • DL Richard Ash
    • TE Ben Koyack
    • S Craig Loston
    • OL Chris Reed
    • WR Neal Sterling
    • LB Todd Thomas
    • DB Peyton Thompson
    • WR Tony Washington

Tennessee Titans

  • Claimed off waivers:
  • Acquired via trade:
    • RB Terrance West, from Browns (link)
  • Cut:
    • TE Chase Coffman (link)
    • LB Jonathan Massaquoi (link)
    • LB Justin Staples (link)
  • Signed to practice squad (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt):

    • S Josh Aubrey
    • RB David Fluellen
    • G Josue Matias
    • WR Tre McBride
    • G Will Poehls
    • WR Rico Richardson
    • TE Tevin Westbrook

Texans Trim Roster To 53 Players

Warning: Hard Knocks spoilers ahead. The Texans finalized their initial regular season roster today, announcing several cuts and other transactions in order to get down from 75 players to 53. In addition to cutting defensive tackle Louis Nix, defensive tackle Brandon Deaderick, and wide receiver Damaris Johnson (as we heard yesterday), and placing quarterback Tom Savage on injured reserve (as we heard today), the club made the following moves, per a press release:

Waived:

  • OLB Kourtnei Brown
  • ILB Max Bullough
  • S Kurtis Drummond
  • T Matt Feiler
  • C James Ferentz
  • DE Tevita Finau
  • RB Kenny Hilliard
  • CB Charles James
  • S Corey Moore
  • WR EZ Nwachukwu
  • DE Dan Pettinato
  • T Joseph Treadwell
  • WR Chandler Worthy

Released:

  • DE Fili Moala

Waived/injured:

  • OLB Lynden Trail
  • OLB Tony Washington

Placed on injured reserve:

  • G Chad Slade

Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweeted earlier today that the Texans were exploring trade scenarios involving cornerbacks Jumal Rolle and Charles James. James showed up on the list above as having been cut, so it’s clear Houston didn’t find a trade partner there. For now, Rolle remains on the team’s roster.

Meanwhile, another’s team’s roster casualty, veteran quarterback Matt Cassel, could be an option for Houston, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Cassel and Texans head coach Bill O’Brien were in New England at the same time, and with Savage landing on IR, Houston is in the market for an insurance policy at quarterback behind Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett.

Texans, 16 UDFAs Reach Deals

The Texans have agreed to terms with 16 undrafted free agents, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26. Here they are:

  • Ivory Brandon, DT, Alabama
  • Jake Cotton, OG, Nebraska
  • Kurtis Drummond, S, Michigan State ($5K bonus, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press).
  • Will Johnson, P, Texas State
  • Kendall Lamb, OT, Appalachian State
  • Khari Lee, TE, Bowie State
  • Mike McFarland, TE, South Florida
  • Cam McLeod, DE, Ohio State
  • Greg Mancz, C, Toledo
  • Dan Pettinato, DE, Arizona State
  • James Rouse, DE, Marshall
  • Chad Slade, OG, Auburn
  • Carlos Thompson, OLB, Mississippi
  • Lynden Trail, OLB, Norfolk State
  • Tony Washington, OLB, Oregon
  • Chandler Worthy, WR, Troy

Draft Notes: White, Bears, Browns, Ravens

West Virginia wideout Kevin White is expected to be an early first-round pick in the upcoming draft, but the speedster hasn’t received much interest from NFL clubs. Earlier this week, the player told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com that he hadn’t heard from any teams since the Scouting Combine:

“Until they call or I have a set workout schedule, I’m just going to continue to do what I have to do and wherever I do go, if I have a workout or prior workout, I’ll enjoy it and try to make the most out of it.”

White finally got a call late this week, as NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that the receiver will meet with the Titans. For the time being, that’s White only scheduled visit.

Let’s take a look at some more draft notes from around the league, with updates added to the top:

  • Toledo linebacker Junior Sylvestre visited with the Chiefs Friday, writes Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter).
  • The Patriots had UConn wide receiver Geremy Davis in for a private workout yesterday, writes Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (via Twitter).
  • The Eagles have a need at safety, and Alabama’s Landon Collins has been a popular target in mock drafts. However, he might not make it to the Eagles’ pick at No. 20, and might not be a fit for Chip Kelly anyway, writes Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. Mosher picks out a number of safeties the team could target later in the draft, including Michigan State’s Kurtis Drummond and Northwestern’s Ibraheim Campbell.

Earlier Updates:

East Notes: Hughes, Mariota, Murray

Bills coach Rex Ryan says that he “absolutely” envisions impending free agent Jerry Hughes returning to the team next season, writes Ross Jones of FOX Sports. However, the defensive end has said that he’s not interested in taking a hometown discount to stay. While we wait to see how that plays out, here’s more from the East divisions..

  • A person familiar with the Eagles‘ offseason plans says the team “is going to try” to move up in the NFL Draft to select Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, Mark Eckel of The Times Of Trenton writes. It won’t be easy, of course, but the Eagles will at least explore going from No. 20 to No. 1 to get the Ducks star.
  • Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News (on Twitter) is skeptical that anyone is privy to Chip Kelly‘s draft plans. He also feels it’s a no-brainer that the Eagles will at least look into Mariota, but it’s far too early for them to start making calls.
  • One team contract negotiator who spoke to Joel Corry of CBSSports.com today indicated that he expects Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to “open his checkbook” and put a 2012 running back market price on DeMarco Murray (Twitter link). The running back position, of course, was valued more highly three years ago than it is now.
  • Michigan State safety Kurtis Drummond has already met with the Eagles and made plans to chat more on Tuesday night, according to Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com (on Twitter).
  • Utah defensive back Eric Rowe apparently has the interest of the Eagles as he has a meeting scheduled with Kelly and Bill Davis, according to Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com (on Twitter).
  • Ryan told reporters, including John Kryk of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter) that he expects to have the Bills‘ coaching staff complete by the end of the week.
  • The Jets spent a significant amount of time with Miami wide receiver Phillip Dorsett after his weigh ins, according to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (on Twitter).
  • University of Miami linebacker Denzel Perryman told James Walker of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that he met with the Dolphins at the Senior Bowl.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.