Since we learned last year that there’d be a spring football league in 2017, several former NFL stars have committed to the endeavor. Today, The Spring League announced (via Twitter) their full training camp roster.
As was previously reported, defensive end Greg Hardy, tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., and running back Ben Tate were among the major names to have committed to the league. Former cornerback Brandon Browner was reportedly involved, but he was curiously omitted from the training camp roster. Former Giants and Colts running back Ahmad Bradshawis seemingly the biggest addition to the roster since the last update.
The Spring League is composed of four teams, with the rosters comprised of veteran free agents. Ultimately, six games will be played between April 5 through April 26. Players who are currently on NFL rosters are not eligible to participate.
The Spring League kicks off in April and it will feature some notable names looking to resurrect their football careers. Defensive end Greg Hardy, tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., cornerback Brandon Browner, and running back Ben Tate are among the players who have been confirmed as participants, according to a press release.
Winslow has not played in an NFL game since the 2013 season and we haven’t heard much from him since he worked out for the Packers last August. Tate, a former second-round pick, showed lots of promise in Houston but could not capitalize on a starting opportunity with the Browns in 2014. Hardy and Browner first committed to the league in early March.
The Spring League consists of four teams comprised of veteran free agents. The league will conduct practices and play six games from April 5 through April 26. Players who are currently on NFL rosters will not be eligible to participate.
The league has secured five quarterbacks thus far, including Chiefs 2011 fifth-round pick Ricky Stanzi and NFL practice squad journeyman McLeod Bethel-Thompson. At wide receiver, there’s former Ram Brandon Gibson, Jets 2014 fourth-round pick Jalen Saunders, and one-time Bills WR2 David Nelson. Former Jets defensive back Ellis Lankster and Texans 2013 third-round defensive tackle Sam Montgomery will also be suiting up for The Spring League next month.
The full list of players can be found below. In addition to those listed here, Pro Football Rumors has learned that another 30 players are expected to join prior to the start of training camp.
After having waived quarterback Jameill Showersearlier today, the Cowboys are hoping the signal-caller will land on their practice squad, according to Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News (via Twitter).
The Bengals are planning on holding on to three quarterbacks and have no “plans” of trading A.J. McCarron, according to Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). Earlier reports indicated that the team was seeking at least “Day 2 draft picks” in return for the backup QB.
September 3rd, 2016 at 7:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson
Now that cutdowns are completed, teams have begun auditioning players that are still on the free agent market, either in an effort to upgrade their current roster or to update their emergency free agent lists. Let’s take a look at the workouts that have been reported today:
Over the last day or so, the Patriots have auditioned offensive tackle Clay DeBord, tight end Nic Jacobs, wide receiver Mitch Mathews, wide receiver K.J. Maye, defensive back Tyler Patmon, and running back David Cobb, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Chiefs also worked out Cobb, and also took a look at running back Zac Brooks, who was waived by the Seahawks this week, tweets Howard Balzer. Kansas City also worked out offensive lineman Anthony Fabiano, defensive lineman David Moala, guard Ian Silberman, and defensive end Quanterus Smith, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
The Broncos auditioned wide receiver/return specialist Brandon Tate, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Tate was released by the Bengals last week after several years with the club.
Long snapper Brett Goode worked out for the Packers today, reports Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. Goode, who had been with Green Bay since 2008, is expected to sign tomorrow if he checks out medically. The Packers don’t currently have a long snapper on their roster.
The Lions are inching closer to the 75-man limit in advance of the Tuesday deadline. On Monday, the Lions announced that the following players have been dropped:
The Lions have also placed rookie long snapper Jimmy Landes on injured reserve. That means Don Muhlbach will likely continue to serve as the Lions’ long snapper.
Earlier today, the Lions also released offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, meaning that they have shed ten players from the roster today. With today’s transactions, the Lions roster currently stands at 78 players.
The Bengals have waived cornerback Corey Tindal, Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Tindal, who joined the Bengals as a UDFA, was the victim of an armed robbery earlier this month. With Tindal out of the picture, the Bengals currently have an open spot on their 90-man roster.
The Bears have waived quarterback Dalyn Williams, as Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. With Williams out of the picture, the Bears are now down to four quarterbacks, as shown on their Roster Resource page.
The Packers have reached the 90-man roster limit by signing cornerback Warren Gatewood of Alcorn State, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com tweets.
The Texans have waived/injured cornerback Richard Leonard, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Houston need to open a roster spot for defensive tackle Ra’Zahn Howard, the supplemental draft entry whom the club officially signed today.
The Vikings waived linebacker Travis Lewis and defensive tackle Bruce Gaston, the club announced. Lewis was with Detroit from 2012 through 2015 before signing with Minnesota this offseason. He actually started four games last season, but for the most part he’s been a backup, appearing in 42 contests during his four-year career. Lewis was a key member of Detroit’s special teams unit, playing on more than 70% of Detroit’s ST snaps, and that’s the role he was expected to play in Minnesota. Instead, the Vikings will carry $50K in dead money on their 2016 salary cap as a result of having given Lewis a signing bonus.
The latest minor moves on this palindromic day:
Former fourth-round quarterback Logan Thomas has been waived by his second organization, as the Dolphins cut him loose earlier today, along with defensive tackle Charles Tuaau, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets. Thomas spent the 2014 season with the Cardinals before they too deemed Thomas too raw for the NFL.
The Jaguars signed punter Ryan Quigley and wide receiver Shane Wynn while waiving safety Craig Loston, cornerback Rashaad Reynolds, and defensive end Quanterus Smith, according to Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Quigley was on the Eagles’ offseason roster for a little over a month earlier this offseason.
The Bears are expected to sign defensive lineman Marquis Jackson, the twin brother of Malik Jackson, reports Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Chicago has also waived defensive lineman Kenton Adeyemi and linebacker Don Cherry, Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com tweets.
After a tryout yesterday, the Chiefs have signed wide receiver Seantavius Jones, per Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com (Twitter link), adding that Kansas City also inked defensive Akeem Davis.
Defensive lineman James DeLoach has been cut by the Lions, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).
The Bengals have waived undrafted linebacker Gionni Paul, Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets.
Here are today’s reserve/futures contract signings from around the league. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2016 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ 90-man rosters.
Michael, who turned 25 last Monday, was acquired by the Cowboys from the Seahawks in a trade earlier this year, and had been expected to get an increased workload after Joseph Randle was demoted and then released. However, it was the veteran, Darren McFadden, who ended up taking many of those carries, prompting Dallas to waive Michael and take a flier on Robert Turbin this week. In five games with the Cowboys, Michael ran for just 51 yards on 15 attempts, adding a single reception for two yards.
Here are the rest of Thursday’s practice squad moves from around the NFL:
As was previously reported, defensive end Greg Hardy, tight end Kellen Winslow Jr., and running back Ben Tate were among the major names to have committed to the league. Former cornerback Brandon Browner was reportedly involved, but he was curiously omitted from the training camp roster. Former Giants and Colts running back Ahmad Bradshaw is seemingly the biggest addition to the roster since the last update.