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Spencer Lanning

Extra Points: Spiller, Scherff, Lanning, Giants

August 15th, 2015 at 3:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

C.J. Spiller became the latest key performer to have an injury end his preseason and potentially put the start of his regular season in doubt.

The Saints‘ presumed passing-down back underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Friday but is expected to make his Saints debut in Week 1, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, on Twitter.

Spiller, who did not play in the Saints’ initial preseason game, joins Zach Ertz, Julius Thomas and Jonathan Cyprien among the contingent that’s seen injuries make August a rehabilitation month.

Here are a few other items from around the league, beginning in Washington.

  • No. 5 overall pick Brandon Scherff may no longer play a position worthy of that kind of draft expense, with Washington coach Jay Gruden noting the Iowa product’s future will be at guard, per the Washington Post’s Mike Jones (on Twitter). Scherff’s currently slotted at right guard on Washington’s depth chart to accommodate 2014 third-rounder Morgan Moses, who sits atop the right tackle pecking order despite starting just one game last year. Gruden told media, including Jones (Twitter link), Scherff’s permanent move inside is due to Moses’ progression, not the decorated rookie’s inability to stick at right tackle.
  • Jones also points out Zach Miller isn’t a realistic option for Washington’s tight end crisis, with the former Raiders and Seahawks starter still not fully recovered from the ankle injury that ended his 2014 season (Twitter link).
  • Tom Coughlin confirmed Mykkele Thompson‘s Achilles’ tendon tear and noted higher-profile Giants rookie safety Landon Collins has a sprained MCL, per NJ.com’s Jordan Raanan. Collins is expected back by Week 1 but will probably miss most of the preseason, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Vacchiano, on Twitter, also offers that Collins being back for the start of the Giants’ season isn’t a lock, with the recovery time for MCL sprains being 2-6 weeks.
  • Vying for the Broncos‘ kicker job after each had it for parts of last season, Brandon McManus and Connor Barth combined to go 5-for-5 in field goals Friday night, but Mike Klis of 9News notes that the Denver kicking competition now includes Spencer Lanning, should the team opt to go with one kicker and Lanning as a punter/kickoff specialist. The Browns’ punter before June’s Andy Lee trade, Lanning also poses a threat to longtime punter Britton Colquitt, who seemed safe after agreeing to reduce his salary by $1.4MM earlier this month.
  • Fifth-year outside linebacker Gabe Miller will work out for the Browns, tweets Adam Caplan of NFL.com. A fifth-round pick of the Chiefs in 2011, Miller’s only played in seven games in four years, each coming last season with Washington.

More Minor NFL Transactions: 8/14/15

August 14th, 2015 at 4:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier in the day, we rounded up several of Friday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, but there have been a number of moves since then. Here’s the latest:

  • The Broncos have claimed punter Spencer Lanning off waivers from the Buccaneers, increasing their roster to the maximum 90 players, tweets Mike Klis of 9News. For Lanning, who can also handle kickoffs, it’s the second time this offseason he has been claimed off waivers — the Bucs snatched him up in June after he was cut by Cleveland.
  • Defensive tackle Casey Walker has rejoined the Patriots, the team with which he saw the most action last season, the club announced today in a press release. According to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (Twitter link), after being cut by the Ravens earlier this month, Walker visited the Pats and Rams and received interest from other clubs as well.
  • Washington has swapped one linebacker for another, waiving Trevardo Williams and signing Sage Harold, tweets Mike Jones of the Washington Post. Williams, who’s dealing with a hamstring issue, will revert to the team’s injured reserve list if he clears waivers.
  • The following players have been removed from their respective teams’ IR lists with injury settlements, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (all Twitter links): WR Caleb Holley (Bills), DB Shamiel Gary (Dolphins), and LB Quinton Alston (Buccaneers).
  • After being waived/injured by the Steelers earlier this week, running back Cameron Stingily is now on the team’s IR, tweets Wilson.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/15

August 13th, 2015 at 7:02pm CST by Zachary Links

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

  • The Buccaneers announced today that they’ve waived punter Spencer Lanning, as Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com tweets. In 2014, only two punters had more attempts than the 93 punts Lanning made for the Browns. However, Lanning’s performance wasn’t great, so Cleveland cut him after trading for Andy Lee in June, at which point he was claimed by the Bucs. Today’s move leaves Tampa Bay with two punters still on the roster.
  • The Falcons announced that they’ve waived rookie safety Damian Parms, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Defensive back Ryan White has re-signed with the Packers, as Weston Hodkiewicz of the Press Gazette tweets. White was in camp with Green Bay last summer.
  • The Bills removed Justin Brown from the injured reserve with an injury settlement, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Wilson adds (via Twitter) that the Titans did the same thing with safety Cody Prewitt, removing him from their roster.
  • The 49ers have also waived a player with an injury settlement, cutting offensive lineman Ben Gottschalk from their IR, tweets Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.
  • The following players landed on their respective teams’ injured reserve lists after clearing waivers, per Wilson (Twitter link): DT Ricky Havili-Heimuli (Falcons), TE Clay Burton (Bills), WR Caleb Holley (Bills), DT Chris Whaley (Cowboys), CB Jason Wilson (Cowboys), and RB Tyler Gaffney (Patriots).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Buccaneers To Claim Spencer Lanning

June 9th, 2015 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Buccaneers are claiming punter Spencer Lanning off waivers today, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). Typically, we’d have to wait for the NFL to confirm the transaction, in case multiple teams put in claims. However, the Bucs have the league’s top waiver priority this offseason, so Lanning will be headed to Tampa Bay.

In 2014, only two punters had more attempts than the 93 punts Lanning made for the Browns. On those 93 attempts, he averaged 44.5 yards, with a net distance of 39.2 yards per punt. Those were middle-of-the-road numbers, and the Browns took the opportunity to try to upgrade the position over the weekend when they acquired Andy Lee from the 49ers for a conditional 2017 seventh-round pick, waiving Lanning in the corresponding move.

In Tampa Bay, Lanning will compete for the starting job with incumbent punter Michael Koenen and Northern Arizona product Andy Wilder, who was signed as a free agent in March. Koenen may head into camp with the edge, but his $3.25MM cap hit, which includes no dead money, makes him vulnerable if one of the younger, cheaper players impresses.

Browns Acquire Andy Lee From 49ers

June 8th, 2015 at 4:49pm CST by Ben Levine

MONDAY, 4:49pm: The 2017 seventh-round pick going from the Browns to the 49ers is conditional, Howard Balzer of USA Today Sports tweets.

SATURDAY, 1:34pm: The Browns have indeed cut Lanning, notes Jeff Schudel of the News-Herald (via Twitter). He was scheduled to make $585K this season.

1:27pm: Lanning confirms his end of the transaction on his Twitter account, thanking Cleveland fans. As Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle points out (on Twitter), the Browns’ new punter will count $2.55MM against the cap, while the 21-year-old Pinion is slated to make just more than $483K.

12:42pm: 49ers fans have had to watch as some of their favorite, long-time players have departed this offseason. Supporters can add another subtraction to the list, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that San Francisco will be shipping punter Andy Lee to the Browns in exchange for a 2017 seventh-round pick. According to Schefter (via Twitter), the Browns will also be releasing punter Spencer Lanning.

The move shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, as the 49ers selected punter Bradley Pinion if the fifth round of this past year’s draft. Still, there’s no denying the impact Lee had on the team during his 11 seasons in San Francisco. The 32-year-old has yet to miss a game since being selected in the sixth round of the 2004 draft, and he’s collected three Pro Bowl and four All-Pro selections in that span.

Lee is still one of the top punters in the league, and he’s consistently finished in the top-10 of Pro Football Focus’ (subscription required) rankings at the position. Lee averaged 46.8 yards a punt last season, good for sixth in the league. He has the second-most career punts among active players, trailing only Texans’ punter Shane Lechler.

Lee will certainly be an upgrade over Lanning. Despite finishing third in the league in punts (93) last season, the 27-year-old finished in the bottom-10 for average punt distance. Pro Football Focus hasn’t handed out a positive rating to a Browns punter since Brad Maynard in 2011.

Minor Moves: Friday

March 6th, 2015 at 3:51pm CST by Zachary Links

Exclusive rights free agent Ryan Davis signed a deal with the Jaguars today, according to the team’s Twitter account. The defensive end signed with the Jaguars in May 2012 after going undrafted. He played in one game as a rookie and seven games in 2013 before sticking on the roster last year for 16 games and recording 6.5 sacks. Today’s minor moves..

  • Quarterback Tajh Boyd has agreed to terms with the Steelers on a one-year deal, multiple league sources tell Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). The Clemson product was drafted by the Jets in the sixth round of the 2014 draft.
  • The Broncos officially announced that they have tendered offers to three exclusive rights free agents: linebacker Brandon Marshall, tackle Paul Cornick, and guard Ben Garland, according to Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • The Browns announced they re-signed exclusive rights free agents running back Shaun Draughn and punter Spencer Lanning, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Twitter).
  • The Jaguars declined to tender offers to their five restricted free agents, Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union writes. Fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou, cornerback Teddy Williams, tailback/kick returner Jordan Todman, guard Jacques McClendon, and tight end Fendi Onobun will now become unrestricted free agents.
  • The Lions gave defensive end George Johnson an original-round tender and wide receiver Jeremy Ross an exclusive rights tender, Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com writes.
  • The Chiefs have tendered ERFA Junior Hemingway, according to a source that spoke with Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). Hemingway, 26, is a fourth-year pro who caught 12 passes for 108 yards in 14 games as a backup last season.
  • The 49ers have tendered exclusive-rights free agents Michael Wilhoite and Tony Jerod-Eddie, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com tweets.
  • As expected, the Cardinals declined to tender either one of their restricted free agents, Kent Somers of The Arizona Republic tweets. Both quarterback Ryan Lindley and nose tackle Alameda Ta’amu will hit the open market.