Nick Williams is heading to a division rival. The former Bears defensive lineman is signing with the Lions, reports SiriusXM’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter).
The 2013 seventh-round pick has put together a seven-year career, including a recent two-year stint with Chicago. His 2019 season proved to be the best of his career, as he set career-highs in games (16), starts (five), tackles (42), and sacks (six). In total, the 30-year-old has appeared in 44 career regular season games with the Bears, Dolphins, and Chiefs.
The Lions defense is seeing a bit of a makeover. Yesterday, the team agreed to terms with former Patriots linebacker JamieCollins.
September 2nd, 2018 at 3:16pm CST by Dallas Robinson
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC North 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 Bears, Lions, Packers, and Vikings 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 North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
October 3rd, 2017 at 5:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson
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.
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.
Williams played in ten games between the Chiefs and Dolphins last season, finishing with eight tackles. He restructured his deal in March, but it wasn’t enough to keep his spot in Miami.
Young was slated to make $1.2MM in 2017 per the terms of the extension he signed in the winter.
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport has provided some more insight on the Browns‘ quarterback plans following their acquisition of Brock Osweiler earlier today (Twitter link). The reporter notes that the team is likely to release Robert Griffin III, and they’ll continue shopping Osweiler as they search for a proper deal. Rapoport also expects the organization to select a signal-caller in the draft.
Let’s take a look at some other AFC notes on a busy day around the NFL…
Rams free agent running back Benny Cunningham is set to visit the Jets, reports Jason La Canfora (via Twitter). The former undrafted free agent has spent his entire four-year career with the Rams. He finished last season with 101 rushing yards and 16 receptions while serving primarily as a third-down back.
Linebacker Gerald Hodges will visit the Chiefs, according to ProFootballTalk (via Twitter). The former 49ers defender had a career-season in 2016, finishing with 83 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions, and one forced fumble.
The Dolphins have restructured defensive end Nick Williams‘ contract, reports Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). The 27-year-old played in 10 games between the Chiefs and Dolphins last season, finishing with eight tackles.
Lawrence Timmons will be visiting the Dolphins on Friday, tweets ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. The veteran linebacker spent his entire 10-year career with the Steelers, and he finished last season with 114 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two interceptions.
October 19th, 2016 at 4:21pm CST by Connor J. Byrne
The Dolphins have claimed defensive end Nick Williams off waivers from the Chiefs and placed safety Reshad Jones on injured reserve, per an announcement from Miami.
The 26-year-old Williams had a brief unemployed stint after Kansas City cut him Tuesday. Williams had appeared in each of the Chiefs’ five games this year prior to his ouster, but he only participated in 11.9 percent of their defensive snaps. Since entering the NFL as a seventh-round pick of the Steelers in 2013, Williams has amassed 21 appearances – all with the Chiefs.
Williams will likely try to catch on at defensive tackle with the Dolphins, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). The Dolphins have relied heavily this year on Ndamukong Suh and Jordan Phillips along the interior, while Chris Jones and Julius Warmsley have combined for roughly 90 snaps apiece as depth options.
The placement of Jones on IR was expected after Salguero reported earlier Tuesday that Miami would shut him down for the season. Jones, one of the Dolphins’ premier players, suffered a torn rotator cuff in their 30-15 upset over the Steelers last Sunday.
Earlier today, we rounded up the latest decisions on restricted free agent tenders. Now, we’ll shift our focus to the day’s exclusive-rights free agent tenders, for players with fewer than three years of NFL experience. here’s the latest:
Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (via Twitter), the Dolphins didn’t tender ERFA tight end Brandon Williams. That leaves defensive tackle Robert Thomas as the only one of Miami’s eight ERFAs whose situation wasn’t reported on today.
The 49ers have tendered offensive lineman Jordan Devey, reports Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.
Washington has tendered offers to all three of its exclusive-rights free agents, according to John Keim of ESPN.com, who reports that linebacker Will Compton, running back Chris Thompson, and punter Tress Way will be retained.
