M.D. Jennings

Bucs Claim Khaseem Greene, Waive Jennings

The Bucs weren’t satisfied with adding just one player off waivers today. After grabbing D.J. Swearinger, the Bucs also plucked former Bears fourth round pick Khaseem Greene, Rick Stroud of WDAE tweets. To make room, safety M.D. Jennings has been shown the door.

Greene, 26, was a favorite of Rutgers coaches but never broke out as a major contributor in Chicago. Greene saw time in 25 games between 2013 and 2014 and made six starts in that time. Ironically, it was former Bucs coach Greg Schiano who recruited Greene to New Brunswick, New Jersey.

The Bucs’ total roster count is now at 89 players,one below the present league maximum.

Minor Moves: Monday

We’ll keep tabs on Monday’s minor transactions from around the NFL in this space, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:

  • The Rams have signed to two players to reserve/futures deal, adding tight end Brad Smelley and punter Michael Palardy, per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link).
  • The Giants have added a veteran to their offseason roster by singing linebacker Victor Butler to a reserve/futures deal, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Butler, 27, played for the Cowboys from 2009-12, but has bounced around in recent years, spending time with the Saints, Cardinals, and Colts in the past two seasons.

Earlier updates:

  • In addition to formally announcing the signing of DeMarcus Van Dyke (noted below), the Vikings also tweeted out word of their signings of defensive end Leon Mackey and defensive tackle Chigbo Anunoby.
  • The Jaguars announced three signings today, two of which had been previously reported. The new one is kicker Derek Dimke, who inked a reserve/futures contract with the team, per John Oehser of Jaguars.com (via Twitter).
  • Washington also confirmed a handful of signings that had already been reported, and added one more to the list. According to the club (via Twitter), former Abilene Christian wideout Braylon Bell has signed a futures deal.
  • Tight end Dorin Dickerson has signed a reserve/futures contract with the Titans, tweets Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. The team removed Dickerson from their IR list back in August with a settlement, but worked him out again in November.
  • The Vikings have signed cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke to a one-year futures contract, a league source tells Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Van Dyke was placed on injured reserve by the Chiefs at the end of the 2014 preseason, and was later released with an injury settlement.
  • The Buccaneers have added three players to their list of reserve/futures signings for 2015, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (Twitter link). The most notable player in the trio is safety M.D. Jennings, who spent his first three seasons with the Packers before being signed and cut by the Bears in 2014. Tampa Bay also signed tight end Taylor Sloat and punter Chase Tenpenny, whose agreement was previously reported.
  • Having previously signed nine of their 10 practice squad players to reserve/futures contracts for the 2015 season, the Eagles made it a clean sweep today, announcing that linebacker Brandon Hepburn had inked a deal of his own (Twitter link).

Workout Notes: Wednesday

Today’s workouts, auditions, visits, pow-wows, get togethers, tryouts, and pop-ins..

  • The Raiders worked out former Saints wide receiver Joe Morgan, a source tells Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • The Saints worked out offensive lineman Will Simmons and Andre Miller, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter).
  • The Buccaneers worked out linebacker Brandon Denmark, safety M.D. Jennings, and defensive back Jocquel Skinner , Wilson tweets. The Bucs also tried out defensive end Lawrence Sidbury, who wound up being signed to the active roster, and defensive back Varmah Sonie, who has joined their taxi squad.
  • Defensive end Sammy Brown visited the Buccaneers, according to Wilson (on Twitter).
  • The Seahawks worked out former Memphis defensive linemen Johnnie Farms, Marcus Forston, Rufus Johnson, Zach Minter, Brandon Moore, Will Pericak, Andru Pulu, and Jared Wheeler, according to Wilson (via Twitter).
  • The Cardinals tried out defensive end Shawn Lemon, wide receiver Jalil Carter, and defensive back Delvin Breaux, according to Wilson (on Twitter).

Workout Notes: Colts, Jaguars, Browns, Broncos

In our roundup of several AFC East and NFC East items this morning, we passed along word on a handful of free agents who recently worked out for East teams. Across the rest of the league, several more auditions took place, so we’ll take a look at all those updates right here. All links are from Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, and go to Twitter:

  • The Colts brought in a few notable free agents for tryouts, taking a look at running back Mikel Leshoure, ex-Jets cornerback Ellis Lankster, and former LSU wideout Kadron Boone. Of the three players, Leshoure is the most interesting name, considering Indianapolis is believed to be considering adding running back depth.
  • Linebacker A.J. Edds ultimately signed with the Jaguars, joining the team’s active roster yesterday, but Edds also worked out for the Bengals earlier in the week. Additionally, Jacksonville auditioned veteran linebacker Victor Butler before deciding on Edds.
  • Browns kicker Billy Cundiff has had his ups and downs this season, missing six field goals, including three from less than 40 yards. While I don’t expect Cleveland to replace him, the team did take a look at a couple other kickers this week, bringing in Michael Barnard and Zach Hocker.
  • The Broncos worked out an extensive list of players this week, and Wilson has all the previously-unreported names: Rodney Barnes (S), Deion Belue (CB), Kenny Horsley (DE), M.D. Jennings (S), Vernon Kearney (CB), Keon Lyn (CB), Leon Mackey (DL), Ross Madison (S), and Danny Mason (LB).
  • In addition to trying out wideout Jace Davis, who signed with their practice squad, the Texans auditioned quarterback Brad Sorensen and several other receivers, including Rashad Ross, Willie Snead, and former Niner Kyle Williams.
  • Former Cardinals defensive end Ronald Talley worked out for the Chiefs. Talley spent some time with the Buccaneers earlier this year, but was removed from the roster prior to the regular season.
  • The Packers tried out cornerback Lavelle Westbrooks, a 2014 seventh-round pick waived by the Bengals during the preseason.
  • Tight end Xavier Grimble, who hit the open market once again last week after a brief stint with the Patriots’ practice squad, worked out for the Panthers.

South Notes: Texans, Panthers, Workouts

The South is the only divisional region not represented in this week’s Thanksgiving action, but that doesn’t mean there’s not news coming out of the divisions. Here’s the latest from around the AFC and NFC South:

  • With Ryan Mallett out for the year, the Texans didn’t get much of an opportunity to see if he might be the team’s quarterback of the future. As such, the club is unlikely to count on him for 2015, and may be back to the drawing board when it comes to finding a QB. Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report examines the Texans’ “quarterback purgatory,” while John McClain of the Houston Chronicle writes that finding a big-time signal-caller should be atop the team’s offseason to-do list.
  • The Panthers lost multiple offensive linemen during the offseason and have seen even more fall to injuries since the season got underway. As the team assesses its options for the rest of this year, a team source tells Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer that addressing the tackle positions in either free agency or the draft will be a top priority this coming offseason.
  • In addition to working out Terrance Parks, whom they signed to their practice squad, the Texans also auditioned safeties M.D. Jennings and DeJon Gomes, says Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • According to Wilson (via Twitter), the Colts auditioned several pass-catchers this week, including tight end Michael Flacco and wideouts Jace Davis and Nick Williams. The club also brought in offensive lineman Kitt O’Brien for a tryout.
  • The Buccaneers signed a pair of tight ends earlier this week, and took a look at at least one more before making their decision, per Wilson, who tweets that the team worked out veteran free agent Tom Crabtree.

Workout Notes: Thursday

The Panthers, still somehow right in the thick of things in the NFC South race, took advantage of their bye week to bring in a number of players for auditions yesterday. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that Carolina worked out the following players: Austin Pettis (WR), Uzoma Nwachukwu (WR), Zach Bauman (RB), Toben Opurum (RB), Brad Sorensen (QB), M.D. Jennings (DB), Kimario McFadden (DB), Anthony Walters (DB), and Lou Young (DB). Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun adds one more name to the list, tweeting that wide receiver Michael Preston also visited the team.

Wilson has details on several more tryouts for free agent players this week, so let’s round up his updates (all links go to Twitter):

Workout Notes: Tuesday

We’ll keep track of today’s workouts and visits here..

  • The Colts worked out notable kick returner Josh Cribbs, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Cribbs is the NFL’s all-time co-leader in kickoff returns for touchdowns with eight.
  • The Titans worked out former Packers first round pick Derek Sherrod, Yates tweets. The offensive tackle was cut by the Packers late last month.
  • The Panthers also auditioned Sherrod and Kevin Greene, Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post tweets.
  • Defensive tackle Fred Evans tried out for the Seahawks, according to Howard Balzer of USA Today (on Twitter).
  • The Saints tried out safeties M.D. Jennings and Kenny Phillips, according to Balzer (on Twitter). Jamarca Sanford was signed earlier today, so Jennings and Phillips probably won’t be coming to New Orleans.
  • The Saints also auditioned running backs Andre Brown, Tim Hightower, Mikel LeShoure, and Rutgers alum Brian Leonard, according to Yates (via Mike Triplett on Twitter).
  • The Packers looked at defensive tackle Kenny Horsley, safety Kimario McFadden, and linebacker Chaz Sutton, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Falcons are working out former Utah State center Tyler Larsen today, a league source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter).
  • The Dolphins worked out Jonte Green, Wilson tweets.
  • The Seahawks worked out running backs Johri Fogerson, Stanley Havili, and Karl Williams, Wilson tweets.
  • The Titans worked out tight end Dorin Dickerson today, Wilson tweets. The Titans removed him from the IR with an injury settlement in August.

West Notes: Broncos, Raiders, Seahawks

Last night, the Raiders learned that they’ll likely be without defensive end LaMarr Woodley for the remainder of the season. In terms of morale, it’s a big blow to a team that is still searching for its first win of 2014. The Raiders will travel to Cleveland on Sunday and they hope to leave with a 1-6 record. Here’s more from the AFC and NFC West..

  • With the Broncos cutting off their in-season negotiations, their signing priority should be Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas, Chris Harris, and Wes Welker in that order after the season, opines Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). In a poll on the subject earlier today, nearly 70% of Pro Football Rumors readers said that Demaryius Thomas should be Denver’s top priority, followed by Julius Thomas (~20%), and Harris (~11%).
  • The Raiders tried out safeties M.D. Jennings and Larry Asante, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter). Jennings was a former starter for the Packers. Asante was with the Raiders before being waived/injured in August.
  • It was initially assumed that L.J. Fort was signed to the practice squad to play linebacker, but he could wind up being the Seahawks‘ answer at fullback, as Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times writes.

Workout Notes: Tuesday Night

Luke Adams rounded up the latest auditions earlier today and we’ll keep track of the newest ones right here..

Workout Notes: Jennings, Clemons, Winston

Earlier today, we learned that the Titans brought in cornerbacks Derek Cox, Brandon Ghee, and Curtis Marsh for auditions. Here’s a look at the latest workouts from around the NFL..