Philip Wheeler

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/25/17

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: LS Taybor Pepper
  • Signed off Cardinals‘ practice squad: OL Ulrick John
  • Placed on IR: LS Brett Goode

Indianapolis Colts

San Francisco 49ers

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/20/17

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed off Ravens‘ practice squad: CB Reggie Porter

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Placed on NFI: OL Chris Hairston
  • Signed off Titans‘ practice squad: OL Tyler Marz

New Orleans Saints

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/15/17

Friday’s minor moves from across the NFL…

  • The Jets will promote linebacker Freddie Bishop from their practice squad in advance of Sunday’s game against the Raiders, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. Injuries will keep linebackers Bruce Carter and Edmond Robinson out of action, creating a need at the position. Bishop, undrafted back in 2013, made his NFL debut with the Jets last season and appeared in four games. He started three of those contests, totaling 152 defensive snaps and nine tackles.
  • The Cardinals have released linebacker Philip Wheeler, who has been in and out of the organization on multiple occasions since signing with Arizona in July. Wheeler garnered a ton of experience with the Colts, Raiders, Dolphins and Falcons from 2008-16 (133 games, 66 starts), but the 32-year-old hasn’t made much of a defensive impact in recent seasons.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/11/17

Monday’s minor moves from around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

  • Promoted from practice squad: DT Tyrique Jarrett

Detroit Lions

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Promoted from practice squad: WR Geremy Davis
  • Waived: CB Jeff Richards

Minnesota Vikings

  • Released with injury settlement: QB Taylor Heinicke

New Orleans Saints

  • Promoted from practice squad: LB Adam Bighill

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/8/17

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

  • Released from IR: WR Dez Stewart

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Redskins

Cardnals Sign Philip Wheeler

The Cardinals have signed linebacker Philip Wheeler to a one-year contract, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com.

NFL: Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Arizona is the sixth NFL team for the 32-year-old Wheeler, who entered the league as a third-round pick of the Colts back in 2008. Wheeler has since racked up 133 appearances and 66 starts, including 16 and four in those categories with the NFC-winning Falcons last season. The 6-foot-2, 245-pounder amassed 27 tackles on 339 defensive snaps along the way, and after posting those modest totals, he didn’t generate any known offseason interest prior to signing with the Cardinals.

While a healthy Cards team should be fairly deep at linebacker, they’re in need of bodies there now with Deone Bucannon and Jarvis Jones dealing with injuries. For the time being, Wheeler will provide some extra help at the position, though he’s clearly not a lock to crack their season-opening roster.

Contract Details: Hill, Anger, Washington, Wheeler

Let’s round up several of the latest details on contracts that have been agreed upon or signed within the last week or two….

  • Josh Hill, TE (Saints): Matched Bears’ offer sheet. Three years, $7.051MM. $2.5MM signing bonus. No-trade clause for 2016 and 2017. $100K annual Pro Bowl incentive. $200K in per-game roster bonuses for 2017 and 2018. $750K escalator for 2018 for receptions and yards (link via Nick Underhill of The Advocate).
  • Bryan Anger, P (Buccaneers): One year, $1.75MM. $750K roster bonus (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today).
  • Jeremy Kerley, WR (Lions): One-year, $760K base salary. $50K signing bonus. $40K workout bonus. $300K possible through incentives (Twitter link via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press).
  • Darrin Walls, CB (Lions): One-year, minimum salary benefit. $80K signing bonus guaranteed. Rest of deal non-guaranteed (Twitter link via Birkett).
  • Nate Washington, WR (Patriots): One year, minimum salary benefit. $478K split salary. $60K signing bonus. $20K workout bonus (Twitter link via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe).
  • Philip Wheeler, LB (Falcons): One year, minimum salary benefit (Twitter link via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com).

Falcons Re-Sign Philip Wheeler

4:40pm: The Falcons formally announced the deal, as Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.

3:15pm: The Falcons have re-signed veteran linebacker Philip Wheeler, the team formally announced today in a press release. The news comes on the heels of head coach Dan Quinn confirming at the owners’ meetings this week that the two sides remained engaged in talks.Philip Wheeler

[RELATED: Courtney Upshaw visiting Falcons]

Wheeler, 31, began his career with the Colts after being selected in the third round of the 2008 draft. He spent four years in Indianapolis, one in Oakland, and two in Miami before joining the Falcons for the 2015 campaign. Appearing in nine game for Atlanta (two starts), Wheeler recorded 29 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.

Wheeler saw most of his 2015 playing time in the second half of the season, and may earn an increased role in 2016, but the Falcons have already ensured that linebacker Paul Worrilow received an RFA tender, and brought back Sean Weatherspoon in free agency, so we’ll have to wait and see how the defensive snaps shake out on Atlanta’s linebacking corps.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

FA Rumors: RGIII, Browns, Rams, Falcons

Will Robert Griffin III ultimately sign with the Browns after visiting Cleveland last week? According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (via Twitter), the prevailing feeling at the owners’ meetings in Boca Raton is that the Browns will indeed be able to get something done with RGIII. There’s no agreement in place yet, but Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com tweets that there’s a possibility of a deal by the end of the week.

As we wait to see if the two sides can strike a deal, let’s round up a few other items related to free agency, including another one on Griffin…

  • Asked about the possibility of pursuing RGIII, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher acknowledged that it’s something his team may have to consider (video link via TheRams.com). However, it didn’t sound like there was much urgency on that front for Fisher and the Rams, who have plenty of confidence in Case Keenum as their starter.
  • Falcons head coach Dan Quinn confirmed this morning that his club remains in negotiations with free agent linebacker Philip Wheeler, who may end up returning, tweets D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  • Asked today about the possibility of bringing back defensive end Greg Hardy, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said that Dallas is “focused on some other guys right now,” per Todd Archer of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
  • Although there hasn’t been much movement on the Chad Greenway front so far, the veteran linebacker remains confident that he’ll be able to work out a new deal with the Vikings, as Ben Goessling of ESPN.com writes. While Greenway’s first choice is to remain in Minnesota, he did acknowledge that he has received some inquiries from other teams, but he’s not in a rush to make a decision.
  • Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians said he was “shocked” that both Chris Johnson and Jermaine Gresham accepted less money to re-sign in Arizona, adding that there was no special sales pitch for either player (Twitter links via Peter Schrager of FOX Sports).

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/20/15

Today’s minor NFL signings, cuts, and other moves..

Earlier today:

  • The Browns are signing linebacker Jayson DiManche off the Chiefs‘ taxi squad, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. DiManche will take the roster spot previously filled by running back Shaun Draughn, who has been waived, as Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal writes. The 6-foot-1, 245-pound DiManche has appeared in 28 regular-season games with one start, all with the Bengals. Draughn appeared in five games this season for Cleveland with two carries for 10 yards.
  • The Falcons signed linebacker Philip Wheeler and released safety Charles Godfrey, as Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Lions have claimed guard/tackle Michael Ola off waivers from the Chargers, as Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego tweets. Ola has yo-yo’d between the Chargers’ 53-man roster and the taxi squad all season long.
  • The Colts promoted safety Dewey McDonald from the practice squad, as Stephen Holder of the Indy Star tweets. The Colts also cut Amarlo Herrera and cornerback Shaun Prater, Wilson tweets.
  • The Seahawks signed Lemuel Jeanpierre and cut Crezdon Butler, as Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times tweets.
  • The Seahawks also placed linebacker Brock Coyle on IR-DTR, Gregg Bell of The News Tribune tweets.
  • The Chargers will sign safety Adrian Phillips from the practice squad as early as today, Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego tweets.
  • The Raiders re-signed strong safety Taylor Mays, according to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
  • The Saints have signed wide receiver T.J. Graham, according to a source who spoke with Wilson (Twitter link).
  • The Vikings signed Kenrick Ellis and placed Shamar Stephen on IR, Wilson tweets.
  • The Jaguars moved wide receiver Neal Sterling to the active roster and signed safety Craig Loston, John Oehser of Jaguars.com tweets.