Lamin Barrow

South Rumors: Jaguars, Hooker, Texans

The Jaguars would have an interesting setup for Lamar Jackson, employing a recently extended starting quarterback but a long-scrutinized player whose long-term future with the team remains in doubt. Tom Coughlin said Friday the Louisville prospect was an “outstanding young man” and an “extremely talented athlete.” But Dave Caldwell said the team that pulls the trigger on Jackson would have to be ready to adjust its offense to accommodate the dual-threat talent.

He’s a rare athlete,” Caldwell said, via Phillip Heilman of the Florida Times-Union. “As a quarterback, he’s a good player. He won a lot of games at that position. [Drafting him] depends what your scheme is, what you want to do and how you want to play and how he fits. I can’t say he’s the prototypical pocket passer, but you can win games with a guy like him.”

Jacksonville holds the draft’s No. 29 overall pick and has not conducted a workout with Jackson, who may now be a full-fledged top-20 prospect.

Here’s the latest from the South divisions:

  • Caldwell did not give an indication on which way he was leaning with regards to picking up Dante Fowler‘s fifth-year option. The Jacksonville GM said the team had not made a decision. Earlier today, Fowler’s price became clear. It will cost the Jaguars a massive sum ($14.2MM) to keep Fowler on their books for 2019 on his rookie contract.
  • On the subject of AFC South pass rushers, Brian Gaine is optimistic the Texans will extend Jadeveon Clowney this offseason. But Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports no deal is particularly close at this point. Clowney, Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack figure to see the others members of this trio’s deals affect theirs, and Von Miller may become the fourth-highest-paid defender by the time this offseason is over.
  • Gaine does not plan to deviate from Rick Smith‘s philosophy of setting the offseason as the window for extension agreements. John McClane of the Houston Chronicle notes the first-year Houston GM wants to finalize re-ups before the regular season. Clowney and Benardrick McKinney‘s proceedings will put this approach to the test this year.
  • Malik Hooker joined his Colts teammates for the start of their offseason program earlier this month but said (via Matt Taylor of Colts.com) he’s “not 100 percent by any means” as he recovers from a severe knee injury. Colts.com’s Andrew Walker writes training camp isn’t a certainty for the 2017 first-rounder, who went down in late October of last year with a torn ACL and MCL.
  • Former Broncos and Bears linebacker Lamin Barrow was driving the car at the time of the accident that ended with Buccaneers ‘backer Kendell Beckwith fracturing an ankle, Jenna Laine of ESPN.com reports. Barrow and Beckwith were LSU teammates. The crash occurred at around 1 a.m., April 12. The vehicle veered off a road and crashed into a gate, per Laine. Although authorities said Barrow did not show signs of impairment, he was given a citation for driving with a suspended license.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/10/17

Today’s minor moves:

Reserve/Futures Contracts

Miami Dolphins

San Diego Chargers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Practice Squad

Dallas Cowboys

Bears Claim CB Johnthan Banks

The Bears have claimed cornerback Johnthan Banks off waivers from the Lions, as Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets. He’ll take the roster spot of Jay Cutler, who has been officially placed on injured reserve. Cutler learned late last week that he has been ruled out for the year. The Bears also waived linebacker Lamin Barrow from injured reserve.Johnthan Banks (vertical)

Banks was cut by the Lions over the weekend, a move that was overshadowed because Justin Forsett was cut at the same time. Banks, a former second round pick, was traded from the Buccaneers to the Lions in early November. The change of scenery didn’t change much for the 27-year-old, but the Bears are curious enough to take a look at him. With a 3-9 record, Chicago has nothing to lose.

In other Bears news, the team also brought in three wide receivers for tryouts: Jared Abbrederis, Bralon Addison, and Brelan Chancellor (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune). All three players have experience as returners.

Bears Reach 75 Man Limit

The Bears have reached the 75-man roster limit in advance of the 3pm CT deadline. The full list of today’s moves is below

Placed on IR:

Waived:

  • LB Jarrett Grace

Waived/Injured:

Placed On NFI list:

  • OLB Roy Robertson-Harris

Shaw left Soldier Field in an ambulance over the weekend after breaking his right leg. Prior to the injury, he was fighting for the team’s third-string quarterback job behind Jay Cutler and Brian Hoyer. David Fales and Matt Blanchard will now duke it out for the third-string QB job.

Grasu, a second-year center, tore his ACL earlier this month, robbing the Bears of one of their most important offensive linemen.

Bears Release Sam Acho

For the second straight Saturday, the Bears cut ties with a veteran linebacker, this time cutting Sam Acho to make room for second-year inside backer Lamin Barrow, according to Jeff Dickerson and Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Barrow had resided on the Bears’ practice squad.

This cut, however, is due to an illness, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports. The Bears released Acho with a non-football illness designation.

Like Mason Foster, who Chicago released last week after signing him in March, Acho was set to serve as a backup linebacker in the Bears’ new 3-4 set. The Bears added Acho to a one-year, $745K deal in April after the former fourth-round pick played four seasons with the Cardinals, accruing 13 career sacks — seven, and four forced fumbles, as a rookie in 2011.

Acho has 32 career starts, but 26 of those came in 2011-12 before a broken leg suffered in 2013 derailed his career. He is a vested veteran and can sign with any team.

A fifth-round pick of John Fox‘s last May with the Broncos, Barrow saw action in all 16 games last season, mostly on special teams. Although the LSU product participated in just 49 defensive snaps, Barrow played all three linebacker positions in Denver’s 4-3 scheme and made one start as the team battled injuries on the second level.

The Broncos waived Barrow last week. He chose to accept the Bears’ practice squad offer due to a relationship with Fox, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets.

NFC Practice Squad Updates: 9/7/15

While many teams filled up their 10-man practice squads on Sunday, plenty of teams didn’t confirm their moves right away, or kept a few spots open on those units. On top of that, at least one club that signed 10 players to its taxi squad on Sunday has already made several changes, bringing in new players and jettisoning players who didn’t even spend 24 hours on the squad.

We’ll have updates on Monday’s NFC practice squad signings and cuts in this space, with teams listed in alphabetical order. When new moves occur, we’ll bump this post back to the top of the page. Here’s a round-up of today’s moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed (link via Josh Weinfuss):
    • CB Cariel Brooks
    • T Rob Crisp
    • LB Gabe Martin
    • G Antoine McClain
    • WR Jaxon Shipley
    • RB Kerwynn Williams
    • CB Leon McFadden

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed (press release):
    • LB Derek Akunne
    • T Pierce Burton
    • CB Akeem King
    • QB Matt Simms
    • LB Tyler Starr

Chicago Bears

  • Signed (Twitter links):
    • LB Lamin Barrow
    • T Nick Becton
    • DL Brandon Dunn
    • CB Jacoby Glenn
    • WR Jalen Saunders

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed (Twitter link via Todd Archer):
    • OT John Wetzel
    • Tim Scott
    • LB Dakorey Johnson
  • To be signed:

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed (press release):
    • RB John Crockett
    • CB Robertson Daniel
    • DT Christian Ringo

New Orleans Saints

  • Signed (via Evan Woodbery on Twitter):
    • TE Blake Annen
    • CB Don Jones

New York Giants

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed:

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed (press release):
    • T Edawn Coughman
    • T Terren Jones
    • WR Rannell Hall
    • TE Cameron Brate

Washington:

Broncos Make Cuts, Down To 53 Players

The Broncos have officially announced the series of roster moves that reduces their roster to 53 players. In addition to confirming the previously-reported cuts of tight ends Dominique Jones and Marcel Jensen, along with the release of Tony Carter, the club announced 19 other moves.

Montee Ball‘s name was not mentioned among those moves, so the young running back, who was considered to be on the roster bubble, remains a Bronco for now. Here are the players who are no longer on Denver’s active roster, per a team release:

Released:

  • NT Sione Fua

Waived:

  • ILB Zaire Anderson
  • ILB Lamin Barrow
  • RB Kapri Bibbs
  • WR Isaiah Burse
  • C Dillon Day
  • S Josh Furman
  • G Ben Garland
  • ILB Steven Johnson
  • WR Corbin Louks
  • NT Chuka Ndulue
  • CB Taurean Nixon
  • OLB Gerald Rivers
  • T Kyle Roberts
  • T Charles Sweeton
  • WR Jordan Taylor
  • DE Josh Watson

Reserve/suspended:

  • S T.J. Ward
  • DE Derek Wolfe

Minor Moves: Broncos, Colts, Bengals, Chiefs

Here are Tuesday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, including signings and cuts of players who haven’t seen much NFL action recently (or at all), and the retirement of a former 49ers draft pick:

  • The Broncos announced a pair of draft pick signings today, meaning they’ve locked up five of their six draftees within the last two days. Third-round offensive lineman Michael Schofield and fifth-round linebacker Lamin Barrow are the latest players to ink their rookie deals with Denver, as the club confirmed in a pair of press releases. Mike Klis of the Denver Post tweets that the Broncos also waived offensive tackle Ramon Harewood.
  • According to Craig Kelley of Colts.com (via Twitter), the Colts have cut quarterback Seth Lobato and cornerback Keon Lyn, both of whom signed with the club last month as undrafted free agents.
  • The Bengals have just one open spot left on their 90-man roster after signing offensive tackle Chandler Burden today, tweets Coley Harvey of ESPN.com. A Cincinnati-area native who played his college ball at Kentucky, Burden has previously spent time with the Dolphins and Chiefs.
  • Offensive lineman Jason Slowey, who was drafted in the sixth round in 2012 by the Niners, has announced his retirement, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Slowey had been playing for the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League.
  • The Chiefs waived offensive lineman Colin Kelly today, according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter).

Broncos Sign Cody Latimer, Two Others

3:50pm: Paradis has also signed his four-year deal, the team announced in a press release. The offensive lineman is the 200th of 256 total draftees to reach an agreement.

3:38pm: One of the NFL’s two teams that had yet to sign any draftees coming into the day, the Broncos have sprung into action, locking up a pair of picks and working on deals with two more. Second-round receiver Cody Latimer announced on Twitter that he has signed his rookie contract with Denver, and the club confirmed in a press release that seventh-round linebacker Corey Nelson has also inked his deal.

In addition to the pair of draftees who already signed, the Broncos are also closing in on agreements with fifth-round linebacker Lamin Barrow and sixth-round center Matt Paradis, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post. Klis adds that the club’s other two drafted players – first-round cornerback Bradley Roby and third-round tackle Michael Schofield – are expected to complete their respective deals within the next 10 days or so.

Latimer will be in line for a signing bonus worth about $1.017MM, while Nelson’s will be a more modest $48.6K, per Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap. Now that Denver has secured two of its draftees, the Rams are the league’s only club without any draft picks under contract. As our tracker shows, only 57 players remain unsigned, and 11 of those are St. Louis’ picks.

North Notes: Bears, Vikings, Steelers, Browns

Louisville safety Calvin Pryor, who has already visited Chicago in advance of next month’s draft, believes that he’d be a good fit with the Bears, writes Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times.

“I bring a certain type of physicalness to the defense,” Pryor said. “The Bears are already known to be physical. That playmaker ability, that’s what I can bring to the team…. If I get added to the team.

Here’s more from the NFC and AFC North divisions:

  • The Vikings have already had a private workout with Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, writes Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, coach Mike Zimmer, offensive coordinator Norv Turner, and quarterbacks coach Scott Turner watched Manziel go through a workout on March 27th at College Station that was attended by 30 NFL teams, but Minnesota has also gotten an exclusive look. The Vikings have the No. 8 pick in the draft.
  • Linebacker Lamin Barrow is visiting the Vikings today, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). The Ravens met with the LSU product back in February.
  • With the NFL draft three weeks away, much of the pre-draft speculation surrounding the Steelers is whether they’ll take a cornerback or a wide receiver at No. 15. However, Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review argues that their greatest need is at defensive end. Ziggy Hood left the team to sign with the Jaguars this offseason and at last check, the club hasn’t shown any interest in re-signing unrestricted free agent Brett Keisel. Pittsburgh’s only defensive line addition has been former Charger Cam Thomas, who seems better suited to play nose tackle than end.
  • Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray is set to meet with the Browns next week, a league source confirmed to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal (on Twitter). Murray, who has also drawn interest from the Titans and Cowboys, will work out for Cleveland the following weeks, says Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
  • Due to the philosophy of new head coach Mike Pettine, the Browns are less likely to follow a quarterback-centric model as they build their roster, writes Vic Carucci of ClevelandBrowns.com.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.