Soma Vainuku

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/5/17

Here are today’s minor moves.

  • The Patriots signed cornerback William Likely and waived defensive end Corey Vereen with an injury designation. A 5-foot-7, 175-pound player, Likely could factor into New England’s return-men competition, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. The rookie UDFA played four years at Maryland and notched six interceptions as a sophomore in 2014.
  • Former Minnesota Golden Gophers linebacker Jack Lynn signed with the Falcons, who waived fullback Soma Vainuku to make room, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports. He’s a UDFA rookie. Vanaiku’s ouster should pit Derrick Coleman and rookie Tyler Renew against one another at fullback, per McClure.
  • The Broncos waived rookie UDFA tackle Erik Austell, Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post tweets. A Charleston Southern product, Austell was one of the 13 UDFAs the Broncos signed coming out of draft weekend.
  • The Chiefs added former Texans wideout Tevin Jones, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Jones entered the league as a UDFA out of Memphis last year. He hasn’t seen any game action. The Texans signed Jones to a reserve/futures deal in January but cut him last month.
  • The Saints signed wide receiver Dan Arnold and cut defensive end Drew Iddings, Nick Underhill of The Advocate reports (on Twitter). Arnold comes to New Orleans from Division III Wisconsin-Platteville. Iddings spent time in camp with the Raiders last year and was with both the Panthers and Saints this spring.
  • Swapping out interior offensive linemen, the Titans signed center Marc Spelman and waived center/guard Karim Barton. The latter has bounced around for a few years, being signed to reserve/futures deals by the Browns (2015), Texans (’16) and Titans (’17). The 25-year-old has never played in a game. Spelman comes out of Illinois State. He went to the Bears’ rookie minicamp last month.

Falcons Sign Derrick Coleman, Two Others

The Falcons announced the signing of three players on Tuesday afternoon. They have added fullbacks Derrick Coleman and Soma Vainuku plus guard Hugh ThorntonDerrick Coleman

Prior to today, the Falcons didn’t have any fullbacks on the roster, so Coleman and Vainuku now make up their entire FB depth chart. Of course, when all is said and done, they could carry just one fullback, or possibly none if they do not care about prioritizing lead blocking. The Falcons lost one of the league’s best fullbacks this offseason when Patrick DiMarco signed with the Bills in free agency.

You might remember Coleman from his time with the Seahawks. An alleged hit-and-run incident in 2015 kept him out of football in 2016, but he avoided jail by agreeing to 240 hours of community service plus 12 months of community supervision. Although he is out of the woods in terms of legal trouble, he still has to serve a four-game NFL suspension. We had him ranked as one of the best remaining fullbacks on the board heading into Tuesday.

Thornton, 26 in June, started 32 games for the Colts from 2013-2015. The former third-round pick has been held back by injuries and has not seen regular season action since December 2015.

NFL Workout Updates: 12/13/16

We’ve already passed along one batch of workout updates earlier today, but clubs with continuously taking a look at free agents as the season comes to a close — likely with an eye on futures contracts — we have a fresh listing of tryouts to share. Here’s the latest from the workout circuit:

  • Before signing Shaquille Riddick to their practice squad earlier today, the Steelers also worked out fellow linebacker Davis Tull, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Tull was waived from Atlanta’s practice squad in early November.
  • The Broncos auditioned the following 10 players, according to Howard Balzer of BalzerFootball.com (Twitter links): linebackers Khairi Fortt, Deon Lacey, and John Lotulelei; safeties Kevin Peterson, Josh Evans, Dezmen Southward; and cornerbacks Keith Baxter, Mike Hilton, Demetrius McCray, and Corey Tindal.
  • Like Denver, the Saints also worked out a large group of players. The full list, per Nick Underhill of the Advocate (all links go to Twitter): quarterback Sean Renfree; running backs Will Ratelle, Darrel Young, and Soma Vainuku; wide receivers Max McCaffrey, Derel Walker, and Kevin Smith; linebackers Khalil Bass and Adam Bighill; defensive end T.J. Fatinikun; defensive tackle Drake Nevis; defensive backs Tony Burnett, Otha Foster, Anthony Gaitor, and Forest Hightower.
  • The Packers worked out linebacker Frank Beltre and defensive lineman David Moala today, reports Rob Demovksy of ESPN.com. The third member of that tryout, linebacker Jordan Tripp, was ultimately signed to the active roster.
  • The Buccaneers tried out cornerback Tre Jones and linebacker Raphael Kirby, per Caplan (Twitter link).

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/13/16

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Browns have promoted defensive lineman Gabe Wright to the active roster, reports Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Twitter). The former fourth-round pick was previously waived by the Lions after only one season with the team.
  • The Titans announced that they have signed cornerback Cody Riggs back to the team’s active roster and waived quarterback Alex Tanney. Riggs, who played in 11 games for the Titans last season, was cut late last week after initially making the 53-man roster. Riggs totaled 14 tackles, two passes defensed, and one forced fumble in 2015.
  • The Redskins released center Austin Reiter, according to John Keim of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The former seventh-rounder was cut to make room for defensive end Cullen Jenkins, who signed with the team earlier today.
  • The Packers reached an injury settlement with Kyle Steuck, as Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Texans waived rookie fullback Soma Vainuku from injured reserve, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Cowboys have reached an injury settlement with defensive end Mike McAdoo, reports Wilson (via Twitter). The former North Carolina standout has previously spent time in the Canadian Football League.
  • The Jaguars have waived safety Marqueston Huff, according to Wilson (via Twitter). The former fourth-rounder was previously claimed off waivers from the Titans after being handed a one-game suspension.
  • The Jets have cut tight end Braedon Bowman, reports Wilson (via Twitter). The undrafted rookie was inactive during this past week’s loss to the Bengals. The spot will presumably go to Sheldon Richardson, who was suspended for the first game of the season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/16/16

Today’s minor moves:

  • The Texans signed defensive end Alex Carrington and waived/injured fullback Soma Vainuku, according to a team press release. Carrington was a third-round pick of Buffalo in 2010.
  • The Lions have waived tight end Ben McCord, as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes.
  • The Colts announced that they have waived wide receiver Josh Boyce. Boyce, a former 2013 fourth-round pick of New England, managed just nine catches for his old team. At TCU, he was the program’s all-time leader in receiving touchdowns (22). Indianapolis also announced that it has waived wide receiver Andre Debose and replaced him with fellow WR Andrew Opoku. Opoku, a converted linebacker, had four receptions at Delaware.
  • Nose tackle Chris Mayes, an undrafted rookie from Georgia, suffered a foot injury early in practice on Monday and was waived/injured by the Falcons on Tuesday, as D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Mayes, who was listed as the fourth-string nose tackle on the depth chart, was unlikely to make the team.
  • The Dolphins announced that they have waived/injured defensive end Farrington Huguenin.
  • Bills linebacker IK Enemkpali (torn ACL) cleared waivers today and has reverted to their injured reserve, per a club announcement.
  • The Seahawks announced the release of cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste in order to clear a roster spot for the newly-signed Tony McDaniel.
  • The Raiders announced that they have signed free agent tight end Jake McGee.
  • The Cowboys placed tackle Cameron Bradfield (knee) on injured reserve and waived/injured defensive tackle Gerald Dixon (pectoral). Dallas has also signed wide receiver Richard Mullaney, who worked out for the club earlier today, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Texans Sign 15 Undrafted Free Agents

The Texans issued a press release this afternoon, confirming three draft pick signings that had been previously reported. The team has yet to lock up its top three picks, but has secured fourth-round running back Tyler Ervin, fifth-round safety K.J. Dillon, and fifth-round defensive lineman D.J. Reader.

In addition to signing those draftees, the Texans also announced that they’ve added 15 undrafted free agents to their 90-man roster, supplementing their modest six-man draft class. Here are the 15 UDFAs currently on Houston’s roster: