NFL Workout Updates: 11/9/17
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account:
New England Patriots
- LB Zach Vigil (link)
Los Angeles Rams
- LB Zach Vigil (Friday) (link via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle)
San Francisco 49ers
- WRs Cyril Grayson, Chris Harper, Francis Owusu, Jordan Payton, Domonique Young; CBs Trovon Reed, Damian Swann; S John Boyett (Twitter links)
Washington Redskins
- RBs Kapri Bibbs, Dare Ogunbowale, Denard Robinson, Jahad Thomas; WRs Keyarris Garrett, Francis Owusu; DL Stefan Charles, Caraun Reid, Will Sutton (Twitter links)
NFL Workout Updates: 10/31/17
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Baltimore Ravens
- T Nick Callender; G Andrew Tiller (link)
Carolina Panthers
- QB Tyler Ferguson, TE Jerome Cunningham (link)
Houston Texans
- WR DeAndrew White; DTs Stefan Charles, Brandon Thompson; CBs Cody Riggs, Sojourn Shelton (Twitter links)
Indianapolis Colts
- DE Joby Saint Fleur; LBs Vontarrius Dora, Max Valles (link)
New England Patriots
- TE Gabe Holmes; LB Jayrone Elliott (link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
New York Giants
- DE Owa Odighizuwa (link via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- QB Joel Stave; WR Devin Lucien; TE Beau Sandland; DE Patrick Gamble; CBs Marcus Burley, Jarnor Jones (link)
Tennessee Titans
- WR Mekale McKay (link)
Washington Redskins
- DL Jaye Howard, Cam Thomas (link via Adam Caplan of SiriusXM)
Pats Work Out Lamarr Houston, Philly Brown
Outside linebacker Lamarr Houston was among those to work out for the Patriots on Friday, Field Yates of ESPN reports (on Twitter). The team also auditioned a pair of wide receivers – Philly Brown and Tavarres King – as well as defensive tackle Stefan Charles, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.
New England joins New Orleans as the second team Houston has tried out for since the Bears released him from injured reserve Sept. 6. Knee injuries, including two ACL tears, slowed Houston in recent seasons and led to his release from Chicago, which signed the ex-Raider to a five-year, $35MM contract prior to the 2014 campaign. Houston appeared in just two games last season, though he’s only two years removed from an eight-sack showing.
If Houston signs with the Patriots and returns to something resembling his past form, the 30-year-old could provide a boost to a Patriots defense in need of help. The reigning Super Bowl champions’ stop unit ranks last in DVOA through two weeks and has only totaled four sacks.
On the other side of the ball, the Pats haven’t been the picture of health this year at wideout, which could explain their interest in Brown. The 25-year-old has been available since the Bills waived him Sept. 3, and he has worked out with the Jets, Saints and Pats since then. Brown spent the first three years of his career in Carolina, where he hauled in 79 catches, 1,019 yards and seven touchdowns across 43 games (22 starts).
NFL Workout Updates: 9/19/17
Today’s workout updates:
Carolina Panthers
- T Laurence Gibson; CB Tevin Homer (Twitter link via Howard Balzer)
Chicago Bears
- QBs Garrett Grayson and Bart Houston; WRs Marlon Brown, Bug Howard, Kyle Prater, Tevaun Smith, Daniel Williams, and James Wright; TE D.J. Tialavea; C Mark Spelman; T Givens Price; LBs Carl Bradford and Shayne Skov; DTs Stefan Charles, Mike Purcell, and Nick Williams (Link via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune)
Dallas Cowboys
- OLs Michael Dunn, Jake Eldrenkamp, Kaleb Johnson, and Jarron Jones; LB Tre’Von Johnson; DT Caraun Reid, CBs Chris Lewis-Harris, JaCorey Shepherd, D’Joun Smith, and Ian Wells (Twitter link via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News)
Green Bay Packers
- QB Jerod Evans; RB Algeron Brown; WRs C.J. Board, Alonzo Moore, and Jordan Williams; TE Ryan O’Malley; DTs Jeremy Faulk and Joey Ivie (Link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- DTs Ryan Carrethers, John Hughes, and Cam Thomas (Twitter link via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union)
Kansas City Chiefs
- LB Garrett Sickels; CBs Makinton Dorleant and Ezra Robinson (Twitter link via Adam Caplan)
Miami Dolphins
- LB Zaviar Gooden (Twitter link via Caplan)
New York Jets
- WRs Corey Brown, Josh Huff and Paul Turner; G Robert Myers; DL Stefan Charles, Datone Jones, Alex McCalister, and Joby Saint Fleur; CBs Malik Foreman and D.J. Killings; S Jordan Moore. (Twitter links via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, Caplan, Balzer (1, 2) and Wilson)
San Francisco 49ers
- OL Willie Beavers, Wil Freeman, Laurence Gibson, and Max Rich (Twitter link via Caplan and Balzer)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- CB Randall Evans (Twitter link via Caplan)
49ers Work Out Seven Defenders
The 49ers hosted a few established defensive linemen on Wednesday, working out free agents Ahtyba Rubin, Jaye Howard, Kendall Langford and Tony McDaniel, according to Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link). They also tried out defensive tackle Stefan Charles and a pair of defensive backs – Devonte Johnson and Josh Thornton – per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
Rubin, perhaps the most notable of the bunch, spent the previous two years in the 49ers’ divisio – the NFC West – with Seattle. The Seahawks, who play the 49ers this week, released Rubin at the outset of the month, and his only known interest prior to his meeting with San Francisco came from the Bills. The 31-year-old DT started in all 32 appearances with the Seahawks, registering 75 tackles and three sacks, and previously started in 75 of 99 games as a Brown from 2008-14. Kyle Shanahan, the Niners’ rookie head coach, was Cleveland’s offensive coordinator during Rubin’s last season there.
Howard, 28, worked out for the Lions this week before his visit to San Francisco. The former Chief has been on the hunt for a job since the Bears released him Sept. 2. Howard didn’t play a down in Chicago, which signed him in May after the Chiefs released him, and is coming off an injury-played 2016. After Howard posted back-to-back 16-game seasons and combined for 24 starts from 2014-15, a hip ailment limited him to eight and five in those categories last year.
Like Rubin and Howard, Langford and McDaniel earned summer releases from their previous employers. The Colts cut Langford with a failed physical designation in August, indicating that the 31-year-old hadn’t recovered from the knee injury that ended his 2016 campaign in October. He was, however, the picture of durability from 2008-15 with the Dolphins, Rams and Colts, appearing in eight straight 16-game seasons. Langford’s also just two years removed from a career-high seven-sack showing.
McDaniel, whom the Saints released at the beginning of the month, is an 11-year veteran who spent three of the previous four years in Seattle. The 295-pounder is familar with first-year 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who worked on the Seahawks’ staff during one of McDaniel’s seasons with them (2013). McDaniel started a personal-best 15 games that season and notched 53 tackles (a career mark) and two sacks.
It’s unclear if the 49ers will sign any of these players, but doing so would perhaps improve a defensive line that didn’t generate much pressure during their 23-3 loss to the Panthers in Week 1. The 49ers hit Panthers quarterback Cam Newton just twice and failed to register a sack in Saleh’s debut atop their defense. They did, however, hold Carolina to a measly 3.1 yards per rush on 38 attempts.
Workout Notes: Patriots, Jets, Bills
The Patriots auditioned some players of note this week, including linebacker Akeem Ayers, quarterback Thad Lewis, and wide receiver Jeremy Ross (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com).
Ayers has some history with New England after playing on their 2014 Super Bowl championship team. Last year, Ayers appeared in all 16 games for Indianapolis and recorded two sacks.
Linebackers Nicholas Grigsby and Antwione Williams also showed their stuff for the Pats.
Here’s a look at Wednesday’s other workouts from around the NFL:
- The Jets worked out former Maryland cornerback Alvin Hill, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
- Canadian defensive tackle Stefan Charles worked out for the Giants on Tuesday, John Kryk of The Toronto Sun tweets.
- The Cardinals worked out wide receivers Donteea Dye, Cobi Hamilton, and Rashad Ross, as Howard Balzer of BalzerFootball.com tweets.
- The Bills auditioned defensive backs Ironhead Gallon, Lee Hightower, Rickey Jefferson, Marcus McWilson, Orion Stewart, and Jack Tocho, linebackers Kenneth Olugbode, defensive tackle Marcus Hardison, running back Connor Harris, and tackle De’Ondre Wesley, according to Balzer (via Twitter links).
- The Buccaneers auditioned quarterback Trevor Knight, wide receivers C.J. Board and Jake Lampman, and tackles Justin Murray and Avery Young, Balzer tweets.
- The Packers took a look at running back Jacob Huesman, Balzer tweets.
- The Colts auditioned linebacker Travis Feeney and defensive backs Jordan Moore, Taurean Nixon, Ezra Robinson, and Deron Washington, Balzer tweets.
- The Giants auditioned defensive backs B.W. Webb Brandon Dixon, and Jeremiah McKinnon, Balzer tweets.
Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC South
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC South teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Texans, Colts, Jaguars, and Titans are noted below.
Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s AFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
Houston Texans
- Claimed:
- WR Andy Jones
- Cut:
- RB Akeem Hunt
- Signed to practice squad:
- TE Evan Baylis
- CB Bryce Jones
- WR Riley McCarron
- RB Dare Ogunbowale
- LB Gimel President
- G David Quessenberry
- DE Daniel Ross
- G Chad Slade
- WR Chris Thompson
- Cut from IR:
- P Cory Carter
Indianapolis Colts
- Claimed:
- CB Pierre Desir
- WR Matt Hazel
- RB Matt Jones (story)
- DB Kenny Moore
- G Ian Silberman
- Cut:
- T Zach Banner
- S Ronald Martin
- QB Stephen Morris
- OL Brian Schwenke (story)
- TE Brandon Williams
- Signed to practice squad:
- WR Fred Brown
- TE Henry Krieger-Coble
- G Adam Redmond
- LB Darnell Sankey
- LB Garrett Sickels
- QB Phillip Walker
- S Andrew Williamson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Claimed:
- DT Eli Ankou
- TE James O’Shaughnessy
- LB Donald Payne
- DB Lafayette Pitts
- T William Poehls
- Cut:
- QB Brandon Allen (story)
- DT Stefan Charles
- OL Jeremiah Poutasi
- LB Hayes Pullard III
- TE Neal Sterling
- Signed to practice squad:
- DE Hunter Dimick
- WR Amba Etta-Tawo
- OL Avery Gennesy
- TE David Grinnage
- DB Tracy Howard
- OL Chris Reed
Tennessee Titans
- Signed:
- WR Eric Weems
- Placed on IR:
- Signed to practice squad:
- DT Antwaun Woods
- RB Khalfani Muhammad
- QB Tyler Ferguson
- TE Jerome Cunningham
- WR Darius Jennings
- S Denzel Johnson
- OL Tyler Marz
- T Steven Moore
Jaguars To Sign Stefan Charles
The Jaguars are expected to sign free agent defensive lineman Stefan Charles, tweets Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.
Charles, 28, spent the 2016 campaign with the Lions after starting his career with the Bills, with whom he played from 2013-15. Last year, Charles acted as a rotational option on Detroit’s front four, managing to get in 235 defensive snaps in 12 games. He posted 12 tackles in that span, and also played on 17 special teams snaps. His best season came in 2014 when he compiled 23 tackles and three sacks in 16 games.
In Jacksonville, Charles will reunite with Doug Marrone, who coached Charles during the 2013-14 seasons in Buffalo. The Jaguars have already landed one elite option — Calais Campbell — to add to an impressive defensive line that also includes Malik Jackson, Dante Fowler Jr., Roy Miller, and Yannick Ngakoue.
Lions Sign CB Crezdon Butler
The Lions announced that they have re-signed cornerback Crezdon Butler. To make room, defensive tackle Stefan Charles has been placed on IR. 
The signing of Butler could be a sign that Darius Slay will not be able to go in Week 17. Slay has been dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of action in Week 16 against the Cowboys. This week, they hope to have him in uniform as they take on the Packers in a game that will decide the NFC North championship.
Butler had two separate stints with Detroit last year but he has yet to appear in an NFL game in 2016. Over the years, he has seen action with the Steelers, Cardinals, Bills, Redskins, Chargers, Bucs, and Seahawks.
AFC East Notes: Bills, Taylor, Wendell, Branch
The Bills came into the 2016 offseason as one of the NFL’s most cap-strapped teams, and while the team was able to retain its top two free agents – offensive linemen Cordy Glenn and Richie Incognito – that lack of cap flexibility resulted in some key losses.
In speaking to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press about defensive lineman Stefan Charles and to Tom Curran of CSNNE.com about wide receiver Chris Hogan, Buffalo general manager Doug Whaley repeated a similar refrain, suggesting that the Bills “can’t pay everybody.” The team non-tendered Charles, who was eligible for restricted free agency, allowing him to sign with the Lions as an unrestricted free agent. As for Hogan, he got an RFA tender from Buffalo, but it was a low-end tender, allowing the Patriots to sign him to an offer sheet that Whaley and the Bills couldn’t match.
“It was (difficult to let him go),” the Bills GM said of Hogan. “He’s done a great job, not only on the field as a third and fourth wide receiver (and) special teams, (but also) what he’s brought to the community. He’s a great asset to the Patriots. We’re sorry we’re gonna lose him. And add the fact that we’re gonna have to deal with him with the other end of that being (Tom) Brady, it’s a tough matchup because he’s a talented person.”
Here’s more from around the AFC East:
- It appears increasingly likely that Tyrod Taylor will enter the 2016 season without a contract extension in hand, says Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News. According to one of Carucci’s sources, there has been little – if any – progress in contract talks between the Bills and their starting quarterback. The team is more focused on locking up cornerback Stephon Gilmore before the start of the 2016 campaign.
- Veteran offensive lineman Ryan Wendell remains in a holding pattern when it comes to his free agency, agent Frank Bauer tells Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. Wendell’s 2015 season ended after just two games due to a knee injury, and even if and when he returns to full health, it’s not clear whether there will be a spot on the Patriots‘ 2016 roster for him.
- Defensive end Andre Branch is looking forward to a “new beginning” in Miami that will see him become part of a Dolphins‘ defensive line featuring players like Ndamukong Suh, Mario Williams, and Cameron Wake. As James Walker of ESPN.com details, Branch is expected to fill the hole vacated by Derrick Shelby, who signed with the Falcons.