Landon Cohen

Seahawks Sign Landon Cohen

The Seahawks have signed defensive tackle Landon Cohen to their 53-man roster, the team announced today in a press release. No corresponding roster move is required to accommodate the addition of Cohen, since Seattle had been carrying just 52 players since the conclusion of the regular season.

Cohen, 29, was active for 14 contests in 2013 — 12 for Chicago and two more for the Cowboys. According to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), the former seventh-round pick posted a grade of -16.4 in ’13, though most of that was a result of poor run defense — he rated as a slightly above average pass rusher, with nine total quarterback pressures.

Cohen signed with the Bills in July, but was released during roster cutdowns prior to the regular season, and hasn’t played in the NFL this year. The Seahawks worked out the veteran lineman last month.

West Notes: Streater, Harbaugh, Seahawks

Raiders interim head coach Tony Sparano said there is “concern” that wide receiver Rod Streater’s foot issues may end his season, according to Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. The Raiders have until Monday to move the third-year pro off short-term injured reserve to the active roster. If they don’t, they’ll have to put him on season-ending IR and fill a vacancy on the 53-man roster. More from the AFC and NFC West..

  • Adam Schefter told Michael Kay of 98.7 ESPN Radio (audio link) that he doesn’t see 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh leaving the West Coast. There have been rumblings all season long that Harbaugh’s time in San Francisco is coming to an end and the nearby Raiders are said to think very highly of him.
  • The Seahawks worked out defensive tackle Landon Cohen, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (via Twitter). The Seahawks have been connected to Hayne for some time. Cohen was cut by the Bills prior to the 53-man deadline in August.
  • The Seahawks tried out J.C. Copeland, Tim Cornett, Kennard Cox, David Fluellen, Jonte Green, Mikel Leshoure, and Mike Zimmer, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (via Twitter).

Bills Cut Brian Moorman, Jordan Palmer, Others

The Bills have announced the first wave of their final roster cuts, and the list of released players includes some familiar names, including punter Brian Moorman, who has been with the team for nearly his entire career since 2001 and wrote an open letter to Bills fans following his release. Via Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550 (Twitter link), here’s the list of Bills moves:

Waived/released:

Placed on injured reserve:

Extra Points: Manziel, Onobun, Wright

Let’s round up some links from around the league on this Monday evening, wherein the players and the officials in the BrownsRedskins preseason tilt have conspired to transform the Twitterverse into an alternately bemused and enraged cacophony:

  • Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com offers his first entry in what will be a three-part series examining how Super Bowl champions work within the confines of the salary cap to build a winner. Part I examines the percentage of the cap that different champions spent on their highest-priced player. Interestingly enough, the teams who invested most heavily in one player had the most success in the three-year period immediately following their Super Bowl victory.
  • The Ravens might need some out-of-house reinforcements depending on the severity of Jimmy Smith‘s chest injury and Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun looks at some of the names out there on the open market. Some of the more recognizable names are Asante Samuel, Chris Houston, Corey Webster, Dunta Robinson, and Quentin Jammer. However, as we learned yesterday, there is a reason most of those players are still on the market. GM Ozzie Newsome has never been one to make moves out of desperation, and if the injuries to Smith, Lardarius Webb, and/or Asa Jackson are more dire than initially thought, the Ravens are probably more likely to trade for a corner or sign someone who will be released in the coming weeks.
  • Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith is less-than-thrilled with tight end Tim Wright‘s play and Pat Yasinkas of ESPN.com writes that he needs to show improvement quickly if he doesn’t want his spot on the roster to be in danger. “He hasn’t played as well as Tim should be playing,” Smith said. “He’s dropped some balls. If you watched practice, he’s dropped balls. But he’s a big part of what we want to do with the two-receiver, two-tight-end set. Tim hasn’t blocked as well inside. Once you’re that H-back and you don’t block, now they say you’re just another receiver and teams start going nickel. If they do that at least you have to be a good pass catcher. Tim’s a good player. He just hasn’t played as well as he needs to lately.”
  • Jaguars tight end Fendi Onobun has been diagnoses with a torn quad and will require surgery, which means he’s done for the year, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.
  • Mike Rodak of ESPN.com writes that Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus did not take part in team drills on Monday, and the Bills used a combination of Landon Cohen, Corbin Bryant, and Stefan Charles in his stead. Although Buffalo could keep all three of those players as depth behind Dareus and Kyle Williams, they could choose to keep just two and release the third.
  • If the Cowboys tabbed Johnny Manziel, as a newly-released book says owner Jerry Jones nearly made happen, the Browns‘ rookie quarterback would be Teddy Bridgewater, tweets Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com.
  • In Jim Dent’s new book “Manziel Mania,” the author wrote that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wrote Johnny Manziel’s name on the draft card for the No. 16 pick only to have his son, Stephen Jones, literally yank the card out of his hand. As great as that story is, it’s simply untrue, a source tells Sean Lester of the Dallas Morning News. As Lester notes, given that the actual draft card is delivered in New York and Jerry and Stephen Jones supervised the draft from the team’s Valley Ranch war room, it seems unlikely the episode occurred as Dent described.

Rory Parks contributed to this post.

Bills Sign Landon Cohen, Naaman Roosevelt

The Bills have done some roster shuffling early in training camp, announcing today that they’ve signed defensive tackle Landon Cohen and wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt. To make room on the roster for the new additions, the club has cut wideout Ramses Barden and linebacker Nathan Williams.

Of the four players, Cohen is perhaps the most notable, having been active for 14 contests in 2013 — 12 for Chicago and two more for the Cowboys. According to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), Cohen posted a grade of -16.4, though most of that was a result of poor run defense — he rated as a slightly above average pass rusher, with nine total quarterback pressures. He figures to compete for a roster spot this summer.

Roosevelt, meanwhile, was waived by the Lions last week and returns to Buffalo, where he played his college ball and where he played with the Bills in 2010 and 2011. He’ll replace Barden, a longtime New York Giant, who didn’t play last season after grabbing 14 receptions in 2012.