Texans Audition LB Jonathan Freeny
The Texans worked out free agent linebacker Jonathan Freeny on Tuesday, reports Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
Freeny, a five-year NFL veteran, started his career as a special teams player in Miami, but his most notable time came with the Patriots from 2015-16. During that time, Freeny appeared in 18 games and started 11 contests before going down with a shoulder injury last October.
Despite agreeing to a two-year extension prior to last season, Freeny was released during final cutdowns earlier this month. He’s generated interest around the NFL, however, as the Giants and Bears have also worked out Freeny over the past several weeks.
On the hunt for linebacker depth following Brian Cushing‘s 10-game PED suspension, the Texans also auditioned former Vikings linebacker Audie Cole today. Houston is currently starting Benardrick McKinney and second-round rookie Zach Cunningham at inside linebacker, while Brian Peters and undrafted rookie Dylan Cole are the club’s backups.
The Texans also took at look at linebacker Josh Mauga and cornerbacks Johnthan Banks, Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Josh Thornton, Corey White, and B.W. Webb, as Wilson writes in a separate piece.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/13/17
Today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: T Givens Price, LB Scooby Wright
- Released: CB Ryan Lewis, RB James Summers
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: CB Greg Mabin
Chicago Bears
- Signed: RB Josh Rounds
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: WR Brian Brown
- Released: S Jameill Showers
Detroit Lions
- Signed: OT Storm Norton
- Cut: DE Pat O’Connor
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: G Darrell Greene
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: T Tyreek Burwell
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: WR Larry Pinkard
- Released: CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: CB Jeff Richards
- Released: DE Isaac Rochell
Los Angeles Rams
- Released: C Jake Eldrenkamp
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: Antwione Williams
New England Patriots
- Signed: CB Ryan Lewis
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB L.J. Fort
- Released: LB Matt Galambos
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: TE Gabe Holmes, CB Akeem King
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/4/17
NFL teams began forming their practice squads on Sunday, but they’re tinkering with them today as they will throughout the season. We’ll keep track of Monday’s practice squad moves here:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: TE MyCole Pruitt, G Will Pericak, LB Zach Vigil
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Sojourn Shelton, G Cole Toner
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: LB B.J. Bello, OL Travis Averill
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DE Earl Okine
- Cut: DT Derrick Lott
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste, OLB/DE Carroll Phillips
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: DT Gabe Wright
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: C Cornelius Edison, OT Cedrick Lang
New England Patriots
- Signed: WR Demarcus Ayers
New York Jets
- Signed: CB Terrell Sinkfield, DL Patrick Gamble, OLB Geoff Gray, WR JoJo Natson, OLB Freddie Bishop, RB Marcus Murphy
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: C James Stone, DE Max Valles
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: QB Trevone Boykin, WR David Moore, LB Austin Calitro, OT Jarron Jones
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Zach Pascal
Washington Redskins
- Signed: QB Alek Torgersen, WR Dres Anderson, OL Anthony Fabiano
Jaguars Move Roster To 53
The Jaguars have reduced their roster to the league-mandated 53 by making the following transactions:
Released:
- LB Andrew Gachkar
- DE Malliciah Goodman
- LB Josh McNary
Waived:
- RB Tim Cook
- DE Hunter Dimick
- CB Brian Dixon
- TE Alex Ellis
- WR Amba Etta-Tawo
- OL Avery Gennesy
- TE David Grinnage
- DB Tracy Howard
- CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste
- OL Nila Kasitati
- DT Kevin Maurice
- DE Carroll Phillips
- OL Chris Reed
- DE Jonathan Woodard
Waived/injured:
- CB Doran Grant
- S Jarrod Harper
- WR Shane Wynn
Placed on IR:
Jaguars Sign CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste
The Jaguars have signed free agent cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste, the club announced today.
Jean-Baptiste, 27, was selected by the Saints in the second round (No. 58 overall) in the 2014 draft, but he’s never lived up to that billing. In fact, he’s appeared in only four games throughout the course of his career, and all of those appearances came during his rookie campaign. After being waived prior to the 2015 season, Jean-Baptiste has bounced around the NFL, spending time on the offseason/practice squad rosters of the Lions, Seahawks, and Chiefs.
Jacksonville already boasts one of the league’s best cornerback duos in A.J. Bouye and Jalen Ramsey, while Aaron Colvin is a capable slot defender. Clearly, Jean-Baptiste won’t be competing for anything resembling a starting job, and would likely play on special teams if he makes the Jaguars roster. Jacksonville was apparently set on adding another corner, as they worked out veteran Alterraun Verner in May (but opted not to sign him).
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/15/17
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: OL Marquis Lucas
- Waived: LB Christian Tago
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR Harvey Binford, WR Fred Brown, LB Jeremiah George
- Waived: WR Marcus Leak, WR Al-Damion Riles, DT Kristjan Sokoli
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Claimed off waivers: CB Taurean Nixon (Twitter link via Mike Klis of 9News)
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: CB Trevon Hartfield, T Donald Hawkins
- Waived: OL Corin Brooks, CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: QB Dylan Thompson
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: LS Thomas Gafford (Twitter link via Joel Erickson of the Advocate)
- Waived: OL Cameron Lee (Twitter link via Erickson), LS Jesse Schmitt (Twitter link via Herbie Teope of NOLA.com)
- Waived/injured: WR Dan Arnold
Chiefs Sign Six Players, Cut Seven
The Chiefs are making moves. The team announced on Tuesday afternoon that six players have been signed while seven others have been shown the door:
Signed:
- Ricky Ali’ifua, DL (previously reported)
- Emanuel Byrd, TE
- Stanley Jean-Baptiste, CB
- Will Monday, P
- Devine Redding, RB
- Jamari Staples, WR
Cut:
- Vernon Harris, CB
- Anas Hasic, WR
- Wyatt Houston, TE
- Cory Johnson, DL
- Will Ratelle, FB
- Darrin Reaves, RB (previously reported)
- Kelvin Taylor, RB
Taylor was signed by the Chiefs just last week but was unable to stick on the roster. Before coming to KC, Taylor spent part of the 2016 season on the Seahawks’ practice squad and one game on the 53-man roster. Unfortunately, his odds of making the Chiefs’ final cut was never all that great anyway with Spencer Ware, Charcandrick West, C.J. Spiller, and third-round pick Kareem Hunt already in the fold. Taylor, a former sixth-round pick, will now look to hook on elsewhere.
Jean-Baptiste auditioned for the Chiefs over the weekend. Selected in the second round of the 2014 draft by New Orleans, he has yet to live up to the hype. In his three seasons since being drafted, he has appeared in just four games.
Chiefs Auditioning Garrett Hartley
There will be more than 70 players attending the Chiefs’ rookie camp, including several intriguing veterans. According to Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star (via Twitter), the organization will be auditioning kicker Garrett Hartley and cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste.
Hartley is presumably being brought in to provide some competition for incumbent Cairo Santos. The free agent kicker hasn’t appeared in an NFL contest since 2014, when he played in a pair of games for the Browns. The 30-year-old was a mainstay on the Saints special teams unit from 2010 through 2013. His best season came in 2012, when he converted 81.8-percent of his field goal attempts and 100-percent of his extra point attempts.
While the Chiefs still haven’t committed to Santos longterm, it’s probably a long shot that the 25-year-old will end up losing his gig. The former Tulane product has served as Kansas City’s kicker for the past three seasons, and he had his best campaign in 2016. Santos finished the year having converted 88.6-percent of his field goals and 92-percent of his extra point attempts.
The Saints were hoping that Jean-Baptiste would be a consistent presence in their secondary when they selected him in the second round of the 2014 draft. However, the cornerback has had difficulty finding a role in the NFL, as he’s only appeared in four games over three seasons. If he does catch on with the Chiefs, he’ll be competing with a number of cornerbacks (including Phillip Gaines, Kenneth Acker, D.J. White, Terrance Mitchell, and Vernon Harris) for a top reserve role.
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).
Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/18/16
Here are today’s reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL:
Green Bay Packers
- Carl Bradford, LB (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
- William Campbell, DT
- Mitchell Henry, TE
- Jamel Johnson, WR
- Christian Ringo, DT
- Jeremy Vujnovich, T
- Ed Williams, WR
Kansas City Chiefs
- Tyrell Adams, LB (Twitter link via Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star)
- Da’Ron Brown, WR (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
- Reid Fragel, T
- Laurence Gibson, T
- Mike Liedtke, G
- Darrin Reaves, RB
- Jimmy Staten, DE
- Ross Travis, TE
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Jordan Dangerfield, S (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
- Matt Feiler, T
- B.J. Finney, C
- Isaiah Frey, CB (Twitter link via Dov Kleiman of RantSports)
- Xavier Grimble, TE
- Rajion Neal, RB (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
- Shakim Phillips, WR
- Abou Toure, RB
Seattle Seahawks
- Brandon Cottom, FB (Twitter links via Dov Kleiman of RantSports)
- George Farmer, CB
- DeShon Foxx, WR
- Antwan Goodley, WR
- Justin Hamilton, DT
- Stanley Jean-Baptiste, CB
- Douglas McNeil, WR
- Drew Nowak, C
- Will Pericak, C
- Trovon Reed, DB
- Robert Smith, S
- DeAngelo Tyson, DE