South Notes: Titans, Watt, Jags, Bucs
Let’s round up a few Wednesday items from out of the NFL’s two South divisions….
- The Titans appear to be eyeing secondary help. In addition to hosting Crezdon Butler for a tryout, as we heard yesterday, the team also auditioned veteran defensive backs Dominique Franks, Julian Posey, R.J. Stanford, and Terrell Thomas, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). In a separate tweet, Wilson adds that Tennessee had interest in signing cornerback Derek Cox before he returned to the Ravens.
- Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link) provides the details on the contract that kicker Ryan Succop signed with the Titans. According to Kuharsky, it’s a minimum-salary pact with a $15K roster bonus.
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap provides a full year-by-year breakdown of what J.J. Watt‘s new contract extension with the Texans should look like, based on a report from John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.
- After auditioning for the Dolphins yesterday, tight end David Paulson has a tryout scheduled with the Jaguars for next Tuesday, tweets Wilson.
- Wide receivers Joe Anderson and Chris Williams, along with defensive backs Jordan Mabin and C.J. Wilson, worked out for the Buccaneers, according to Wilson (via Twitter).
Ryan Succop, Titans Agree To One-Year Deal
1:13pm: The Titans have officially agreed to terms with Succop on a one-year deal, reports Wyatt (via Twitter). Per Terry McCormick (via Twitter), rookie kicker Travis Coons will be cut to make room on the roster.
MONDAY, 11:18am: Succop is still receiving interest from several teams, but is making the most progress with the Titans, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
SUNDAY, 9:38pm: The Titans waived Maikon Bonani yesterday, indicating that the team was going to move forward with Travis Coons as their starting kicker. Those plans have apparently changed, as Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean reports that the team is expected to sign veteran Ryan Succop.
Succop’s five-year tenure as the Chiefs‘ starting placekicker ended yesterday when he failed to make the team’s final cuts. The 27-year-old has made 81 percent of his career field goal attempts and has never missed an extra point. Last season, he converted 22-of-28 field goal attempts, leading Pro Football Focus (subscription required) to rank him as the 19th-best kicker. To compare, the Titans kicker last season, Rob Bironas, ranked as the 25th-best.
Free Agent Notes: Patterson, Bailey, Kafka, Painter
It was a busy day in the NFL, and plenty of free agents are now looking for a new home. Let’s see where some of them could be heading…
- The Texans have already expressed interest in former Jets cornerback Dimitri Patterson, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
- The Saints don’t have a kicker on their roster, but they shouldn’t be worried. Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole tweets that there are plenty of options in free agency, including Ryan Succop, Connor Barth and Jay Feely.
- NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport spoke to Champ Bailey‘s agent, Jack Reale, who indicated that the veteran “definitely” still wants to play and is completely healthy. “He had a plantar problem which is resolved. He just missed too much time for the coach’s evaluation to be complete,” Reale said (via Rapoport’s Twitter).
- The Buccaneers will look to bring back quarterback Mike Kafka to their practice squad, tweets the Tampa Tribune’s Roy Cummings.
- Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com wonders if the 49ers could have interest in offensive lineman Vinston Painter. Florio refers to the 49ers attempt to sign Painter away from the Broncos prior to the conference championship games.
- If Joe Banyard clears waivers, he will end up on the Vikings practice squad, tweets Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- The Bills aren’t expected to add another quarterback, tweets ESPN’s Adam Caplan.
Chiefs Announce Cuts, Down To 53 Players
The Chiefs have announced 22 roster moves, taking their player count from 75 to the required 53-man limit. Via a press release, here’s the full list of players who were removed from the team’s active roster:
Cut:
- Jonathon Amaya, S
- Malcolm Bronson, S
- Jordan Campbell, FB
- Dominique Hamilton, DL
- Mark Harrison, WR
- Ricky Henry, G
- Alonzo Highsmith, LB
- Nico Johnson, LB
- Kyle Love, DT
- Justin Rogers, CB
- Kona Schwenke, DL
- Ryan Succop, K
- DeMarcus Van Dyke, CB
- Devan Walker, LB
- J’Marcus Webb, T
- Charcandrick West, RB
- Fred Williams , WR
Placed on injured reserve:
- Tyler Bray, QB
- Kyle Williams, WR
Placed on reserve/non-football injury list:
- Mike Catapano, DE
Placed on reserve/suspended list:
- Dwayne Bowe, WR
- Donald Stephenson, OL