Jets Work Out Lamarr Houston
The Jets are exploring options in the front seven. Gang Green will work out edge rusher Lamarr Houston and defensive tackle Chris Jones, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. Former Rams defensive lineman Tyrunn Walker and former Browns defensive lineman Lavar Edwards will also be a part of the workout, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Colleague Mike Garafolo (on Twitter) adds that the Jets brought in former Chiefs defensive tackle Jaye Howard for a visit recently. 
The Jets have already added a number of new linebackers this offseason, including ILBs Avery Williamson, Kevin Minter, and Micah Awe and outside linebackers Kevin Pierre-Louis, Brandon Copeland, and Neville Hewitt. However, they have done little to bolster the defensive line behind projected starters Leonard Williams, Steve McLendon, and Mike Pennel.
After sacrificing two second round picks in this year’s draft (plus a second rounder in next year’s draft) to move up from No. 6 to No. 3 overall, the Jets may want to fill out the D-Line depth chart through veterans in order to focus on other needs this weekend. The Jets still have six picks in the draft, but their second choice won’t come until No. 72 overall.
Houston, 31 in June, recently auditioned for the Raiders but left Oakland without signing a deal. Howard, 29, put himself on the map with 5.5 sacks for the Chiefs in 2015 but was slowed by a hip injury in 2016 and did not play last season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/13/17
Today’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: DE Lavar Edwards
- Signed off Colts‘ practice squad: WR Matt Hazel
- Waived: DL T.Y. McGill
Detroit Lions
- Claimed off waivers: DT Rodney Coe
- Waived: DE Kasim Edebali
Los Angeles Rams
- Promoted to active roster: DB Isaiah Johnson
Oakland Raiders
- Promoted to active roster: DL Darius Latham
- Placed on injured reserve: LB Cory James
San Francisco 49ers
- Placed on injured reserve: WR Victor Bolden
Seattle Seahawks
- Promoted to active roster: LB Paul Dawson
NFL Workout Updates: 11/28/17
Here are today’s workout updates, courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer unless otherwise noted.
Chicago Bears
- WR Mekale McKay, WR Canaan Severin, WR Rodney Smith (Twitter link)
Cleveland Browns
- LB Lavar Edwards, LB Jayrone Elliott, LB Marcus Rush, DE Devin Taylor (Twitter link)
Detroit Lions
- WR Eric Rogers, WR Daikiel Shorts
Indianapolis Colts
Kansas City Chiefs
- DT Mike Purcell (Twitter link)
New York Jets
- DL Marcus Hardison
Seattle Seahawks
- LB Kenneth Olugbode, TE Hayden Plinke, RB Jhurell Pressley, RB Brandon Radcliff (Twitter link)
Tennessee Titans
- DL Stefan Charles, DL Johnny Maxey
Falcons Place DE Jack Crawford On IR
The Falcons have placed defensive Jack Crawford on injured reserve with a biceps injury, the club announced today.
Crawford, whom Atlanta signed away from the Cowboys this offseason, is now the third Falcons defensive lineman to go down with injury in recent weeks. Star edge rusher Vic Beasley is still working his way back from a hamstring issue, while Courtney Upshaw may be close to returning from an ankle ailment. Crawford, for his part, had played on 101 defensive snaps this season but graded as just the No. 87 interior defender among 100 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.
With Crawford sidelined, the Falcons auditioned defensive ends Devin Taylor, Jonathan Woodard, Sterling Bailey, Nicholas Williams, Pat O’Connor, plus linebacker Lavar Edwards, on Monday, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. Atlanta is on the hunt for defensive line reinforcements, and its workout session comes as no surprise given that head coach Dan Quinn indicated that he and general manager Thomas Dimitroff would soon discuss adding help to their front four.
Taylor, 27, offers vast experience, as the former fourth-round pick appeared in 61 games (18 starts) for the Lions over the past four seasons. While he’s posted 15 sacks during his NFL career, PFF wasn’t complementary of Taylor’s performance in 2016, ranking him as the second-worst defensive end in the league. Taylor signed with the Giants in May but didn’t make it through final cutdowns, and has since worked out for the Vikings.
The Falcons’ defensive front, which currently includes Grady Jarrett, Dontari Poe, Brooks Reed, Adrian Clayborn, Derrick Shelby, and first-round rookie Takkarist McKinley, hasn’t played all that well in 2017, as the unit ranks 21st in adjusted sack rate and 25th in adjusted line yards, per Football Outsiders.
Colts Down To 53
The Colts made major news on Saturday when they shipped wide receiver Phillip Dorsett to the Patriots in exchange for quarterback Jacoby Brissett. After that, they had the daunting task of bringing their bloated preseason roster down to the 53-man max in time for the deadline. Here’s the complete rundown.
Waived:
- CB Dante Blackmon
- DT Josh Boyd
- WR Marvin Bracy
- WR Fred Brown
- T Fahn Cooper
- S Tyson Graham Jr.
- S Lee Hightower
- WR Bug Howard
- TE Henry Krieger-Coble
- WR Justice Liggins
- RB De’Mard Llorens
- DT T.Y. McGill
- WR JoJo Natson
- DT David Parry
- RB Troymaine Pope
- G Adam Redmond
- WR Brian Riley
- ILB Darnell Sankey
- WR Valdez Showers
- OLB Garrett Sickels
- DE Jhaustin Thomas
- T Arturo Uzdavinis
- G Terran Vaughn
- QB Phillip Walker
- S Andrew Williamson
- T Andrew Wylie
Waived/Injured:
Released:
- OLB Akeem Ayers (story)
- OLB Lavar Edwards
- RB Daryl Richardson
- ILB Sean Spence (story)
- CB Corey White
Placed On IR:
- CB Chris Culliver
- ILB Edwin Jackson
- S Earl Wolff
PUP List:
Richardson, who once had a prominent role with the Rams, joined the Colts on Aug. 29 and was viewed as a longshot to make the final cut.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/19/16
Today’s practice squad moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed WR B.J. Daniels
- Cut: WR J.D. McKissic
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed LB Lavar Edwards
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DB Jerome Couplin, LB Cassanova McKinz, LB Reggie Northrup, DB Kevin Short (link via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com)
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: LB Brandon Chubb
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/15/16
Today’s minor moves:
- In order to clear a roster spot after claiming Michael Floyd off waivers, the Patriots waived fellow wide receiver Griff Whalen, the club announced today. Whalen, 26, was signed exactly a week ago, but was not active during Monday night’s game agaisnt Baltimore.
- The Lions announced that they’ve waived cornerback Adairius Barnes in order to create a roster spot for linebacker Corey Lemonier. Barnes had become Detroit’s primary slot CB after the club lost Quandre Diggs for the season, and played 41% of the Lions’ defensive snaps in Week 14.
- The Colts elevated offensive tackle Jeremy Vujnovich to active roster from practice squad, per a club announcement. Indianapolis might be looking for extra offensive line depth as right tackle Joe Reitz continues to deal with back issues. Additionally, the Colts swapped outside linebackers today, promoting Deiontrez Mount while waiving Lavar Edwards.
Colts Claim Lavar Edwards, Cut Darryl Morris
The Colts have claimed outside linebacker Lavar Edwards off waivers from the Panthers and cut cornerback Darryl Morris, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Edwards, whom the Panthers waived Tuesday, will now join his eighth organization since entering the NFL as a fifth-round pick of the Titans in 2013. The 26-year-old has only seen regular-season action with half of those teams, and he has just 17 appearances and one start to his name. Edwards suited up for five of the Panthers’ first six games this year before they parted with him. Along the way, he picked up five tackles and the first sack of his career.
Morris, also 26, saw action in the Colts’ first six contests this season and logged one start, though Pro Football Focus ranks his 2016 performance just 93rd among 112 qualifying corners. Prior to signing with the Colts in early September, Morris combined for 36 appearances and a start as a member of the 49ers and Texans from 2013-15. Morris joined the Jets as a free agent in March, but he was unable to survive their final roster cuts.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/18/16
Tuesday’s minor moves from around the NFL:
- The Steelers announced that they have signed offensive tackle Brian Mihalik to the team’s active roster off the Lions‘ practice squad. To make room, offensive lineman Matt Feiler was cut loose. Mihalik spent the 2016 offseason and part of training camp with Pittsburgh.
- The Panthers have re-signed tight end Scott Simonson, as Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer tweets. To make room for him, the Panthers have cut defensive end Lavar Edwards, who recorded one sack this year. As Person notes (Twitter link), that’s more than the combined total that starters Kony Ealy and Charles Johnson (0.5) have between them.
- The Colts announced that they have elevated wide receiver Tevaun Smith from their practice squad to the 53-man roster. Smith will take the place of fellow wideout Quan Bray, who’s now on IR with an ankle injury (via Kevin Bowen of the team’s website). Bray has only three catches this year, but he is the Colts’ primary return man.
- The Seahawks announced that they have placed defensive tackle Garrison Smith on IR and signed defensive tackle Sealver Siliga to the 53-man roster.
- The Saints have released cornerback Tony Carter from IR, tweets Nick Underhill of the Advocate.
Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC South
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC 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 Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are noted below.
Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. 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 South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:
Atlanta Falcons
- Claimed:
- WR Taylor Gabriel (link via Mike Florio of PFT)
- Waived:
- Signed to practice squad:
- DE Nordly Capi
- CB Devonte Johnson
- DT Joey Mbu
- WR J.D. McKissic
- S Sharrod Neasman
- QB Matt Simms
- TE D.J. Tialavea
- RB Gus Johnson (Twittler link via D. Orlando Ledbetter)
- CB Deji Olatoye (Twittler link via D. Orlando Ledbetter)
Carolina Panthers
- Claimed:
- DE Lavar Edwards (Link via PFT)
- Waived:
- DE Wes Horton (Link via David Newton)
- Signed to practice squad
- CB Zack Sanchez (Link via Adam Caplan)
- S Marcus Ball
- LB Brian Blechen
- DT Eric Crume
- WR Keyarris Garrett
- TE Beau Sandland
- RB Jalen Simmons
- DE Larry Webster
- OL David Yankey
New Orleans Saints
- Signed to practice squad:
- OL John Fullington (Link via Josh Katzenstein)
- CB Brian Dixon (Link via Mike Triplett)
- DE Bobby Richardson
- LB Tony Steward
- FB Austin Johnson
- C Jack Allen,
- TE Garrett Griffin
- WR Jake Lampman
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed to practice squad:
- RB Russell Hansbrough (Link via Jim Thomas)
- WR Jeremy Butler (Link via PFT)
- LB Josh Keyes (link via Greg Auman)
- RB Peyton Barber (story via Auman)
- OL Josh Allen
- OL Ben Gottschalk
- CB Javien Elliott
- S Isaiah Johnson
- LB Micah Awe (Link via Auman)
- WR Freddie Martino