Terry Williams

Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC North

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC North 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 Bears, Lions, Packers, and Vikings are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. 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 NFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Minnesota Vikings

Bears Set 53-Man Roster

John Fox‘s first roster with the Bears will include three quarterbacks, but the third isn’t the one he oversaw in Denver. The Bears sent Zac Dysert back to waivers after picking up the ex-Broncos quarterback last week.

Instead, David Fales will back up Jay Cutler and Jimmy Clausen, as the Bears made their cuts to slash their roster to 53 players, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.

Also among the cuts was third-year defensive end/linebacker David Bass, who played in 20 games the past two seasons. A former seventh-round pick of the Raiders in 2013 with a pick-six to his credit as a rookie in Chicago, Bass has interested suitors and will land somewhere soon, per Bleacher Report’s Dan Pompei (on Twitter).

Here are the rest of Chicago’s final cuts:

  • Jonathan Anderson, ILB
  • Qumain Black, WR
  • Conor Boffeli, OL
  • A.J. Cruz, WR (Waived/injured)
  • Jacoby Glenn, CB
  • Anthony Jefferson, DB (Injured reserve)
  • Rashad Lawrence, WR
  • Tyler Moore, OL
  • Michael Ola, OL
  • Ify Umodu, WR
  • Gannon Sinclair, TE
  • Matthew Wells, ILB
  • Terry Williams, DT
  • Kyle Woestmann, OLB

Minor Moves: Monday

Here are Monday’s minor transactions from around the NFL, with the latest minor moves added to the top of the list throughout the day:

  • The Lions signed three tryout players – safety Nathan Lindsey and receivers Erik Lora and Jarred Haggins – and released wideout Desmond Lawrence, Tim Twentyman of the team’s website writes.
  • Washington has signed undrafted receiver Quinton Dunbar, formerly of Florida, tweets Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com.
  • The Dolphins signed one tight end – Tim Semisch, undrafted out of Northern Illinois – and released another in Ryan Taylor, writes Mike Wilkening of Pro Football Talk. Taylor, a Packers seventh-round pick in 2011, has eight career catches.
  • The Cardinals have signed three tryout players – a quarterback (Phillip Sims) and two safeties (Brandon Person and Harold Jones-Quartey) – per their official website. To make room, they released tackle Kelvin Palmer, wide receiver Travis Harvey, and cornerback Ross Weaver.
  • The Bears signed quarterback Pat Devlin, defensive tackle Terry Williams, and linebacker Kyle Woestmann, tweets Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune. They also waived linebacker Khaseem Greene and cut fellow LB Austen Lane.
  • The Buccaneers have cut safety Shelton Johnson, wide receivers Chandler Jones and Josh Reese, offensive lineman Matt Patchan, and linebacker Michael Reynolds (Twitter: Roy Cummings, Tampa Tribune).
  • The Packers will release defensive lineman Luther Robinson, according to Bill Huber of Packer Report. Robinson appeared in five games last year.
  • The Bills signed undrafted free agent safety Wes Miller, formerly of UTEP, according to Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News (Twitter link).
  • The Raiders signed ex-Auburn running back Michael Dyer, who tried out for them over the weekend, tweets Richard Davenport of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Twitter link). They also signed Emporia state wideout Austin Willis, the player told Rick Peterson Jr. of the Topeka Capital-Journal. Additionally, running back Terrance Cobb wrote on Instagram that the team released him.
  • The Vikings waived wide receiver Kain Colter and guard Jesse Somsel, writes Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune. Colter was on the Vikings’ practice squad last year, while they recently signed Somsel as an undrafted free agent.
  • The Giants released three players – running back Chris Ogbonnaya, linebacker James Davidson, and defensive back Thomas Gordon – according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano (Twitter link).
  • The Buccaneers signed linebacker Jared Koster, who tried out at their rookie minicamp, tweets Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.
  • The Steelers signed tryout players Cameron Stingily (running back) and Mike Thornton (defensive line) to their 90-man roster, reports Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link). To make room, they cut punter Richie Leone, defensive tackle Nigel Crawford-Kinney, defensive end Brandon Prate, long snapper Brandon Hartson, wide receiver Brelan Chancellor, and guard Collin Rahrig (Twitter).
  • The Broncos waived guard Jon Halapio, whom they signed to their practice squad last December, tweets Mike Klis of 9News. Additionally, the team waived wide receiver Matt Miller after signing him as an undrafted free agent earlier this month (Twitter link via Troy Renck of the Denver Post).
  • The Buccaneers have signed three tryout players from rookie camp, tweets Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune. The team agreed to deals with wide receivers Donteea Dye and Adam Humphries and offensive tackle Edawn Coughman.
  • Offensive tackle Antonio Richardson, whom the Vikings waived last week, has retired because of knee issues, per Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. Richardson signed with the Vikings last year as an undrafted free agent from Tennessee and saw some action in the preseason.
  • The Panthers have cut defensive tackle Darious Cummings, reports ESPN’s Joe Person (via Twitter). Cummings signed with the Panthers last week as an undrafted free agent from Florida.
  • The Buccaneers will cut return man Solomon Patton today, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Patton, who went undrafted out of Florida last year, appeared in seven games for the Bucs as a rookie. He has had two stints with Tampa and one with the Cardinals during his short career.
  • Former Wisconsin offensive lineman Andy Phillips signed with the Packers, the player tweeted. Phillips earned a spot with the Pack after impressing team brass as a tryout player at rookie minicamp over the weekend.