Tevin Reese

Bengals Cut Denarius Moore, Eight Others

3:15pm: The Bengals have removed two more players from their roster, waiving wide receiver Tevin Reese and waiving fullback Mark Weisman with an injury designation, according to the team (Twitter link). The roster is now at 78 players.

10:10am: Less than five months after signing him, the Bengals have released wide receiver Denarius Moore, the team announced today (via Twitter). Moore was one of seven players cut loose by Cincinnati as the team looks to reduce its roster to 75 players in advance of tomorrow’s deadline.

Moore, 26, showed some promise during his first three seasons in Oakland, averaging about 43 receptions, 685 yards, and six touchdowns per season in spite of inconsistent quarterback play. However, he had a poor 2014 campaign, catching just 12 balls for 115 yards and no TDs, and missed the final few weeks of the season with knee and ankle issues.

Signing with the Bengals reunited the former Raiders wideout with Hue Jackson, who now serves as Cincy’s offensive coordinator. However, Moore, who got a $25K signing bonus and a $25K workout bonus from the Bengals, was unable to earn a spot on the club’s 53-man roster. He’ll immediately become a free agent.

Here are the other six players cut today by the Bengals:

  • Kwame Geathers, DT
  • Chris Jasperse, C/G
  • Nico Johnson, LB
  • Desmond Lawrence, WR
  • Sam Montgomery, DE
  • John Peters, TE

Bengals Sign Seven To Reserve Deals

Following the conclusion of their 2014 season on Sunday, the Bengals have begun to move on to 2015 business. As such, the team announced today (Twitter links) that it has signed seven players to reserve/futures contracts for the coming season. All seven players finished the year on Cincinnati’s practice squad. Here’s the full list:

Of the 10 players who finished the season on the Bengals’ taxi squad, three have yet to sign new deals — offensive linemen Emmett Cleary, running back James Wilder, and defensive end Sam Montgomery.

Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday

It’s hard to imagine any practice squad updates today will be more notable than the news that Michael Sam has joined the Cowboys’ unit, but there figure to be plenty other teams tweaking their squads. We’ll round up all those items right here:

  • Undrafted rookie center Josh Allen, who was cut by the Bucs, has signed to the Packers‘ practice squad, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter).
  • The Saints re-signed quarterback Ryan Griffin to their practice squad, a source tells Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • The Bengals have filled out their practice squad by adding ex-Chargers wideout Tevin Reese, the team announced today (via Twitter).
  • Safety Matt Daniels has been replaced on the Rams’ practice squad by tight end Brad Smelley, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter).

Earlier updates:

  • The Vikings have confirmed the previously-reported signing of Ahmad Dixon to their practice squad, announcing that tackle Mike Remmers has been cut to make room (Twitter link).
  • When they added Sam to their practice squad, the Cowboys dropped seventh-round linebacker Will Smith, according to a team release.
  • As first reported by Doug Kyed of NESN (via Twitter), linebacker Colton Underwood has signed with the Eagles‘ practice squad, filling the 10th and final opening.
  • The Patriots made a few changes to their practice squad, bringing in guard Chris Barker, running back Marcus Thigpen, and tight end Allen Reisner, according to Kyed (via Twitter). Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, safety Kanorris Davis and defensive back Daxton Swanson appear to no longer be on the squad, writes Lee Schechter of ESPNBoston.com.
  • After working out several players yesterday, the Giants signed one of those players – defensive tackle Dominique Hamilton – to their practice squad today, tweets Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
  • The Ravens brought in former third-round cornerback Jamell Fleming for a visit and added him to their practice squad, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Wilson’s Sun colleague Jeff Zrebiec adds (via Twitter) that cornerback Deji Olatoye has been cut to make room.
  • Safety Ahmad Dixon, who was drafted by the Cowboys in the seventh round this year, is expected to sign with the Vikings‘ practice squad, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.com. Minnesota currently has 10 players on board, so a corresponding move will be required.

Chargers Begin Cutdown To 53 Players

The Chargers may not ultimately finalize their 53-man roster until tomorrow, but their move to 53 players to 75 is already underway. Listed below are the players released so far by San Diego, with any additional cuts added to the list throughout the day as they’re reported:

Chargers Sign Four Draft Picks

The Chargers had one of this year’s smaller draft classes, with just six picks, and the team has already been busy locking up most of them. According to Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter), the team signed four picks today. In addition to inking guard Chris Watt to a contract, which we heard about earlier, San Diego also signed fifth-round pick Ryan Carrethers, sixth-rounder Marion Grice, and seventh-rounder Tevin Reese.

When Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun reported Watt’s deal this afternoon, he suggested the third-rounder agreed to a $419K bonus and a $2.691MM overall value. That’s noticeably lower than the figures Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap predicted, and Fitzgerald has been on point with most of his other projections, so we’ll have to wait for confirmation on that amount. Assuming Fitzgerald’s other numbers are accurate though, Carrethers, Grice, and Reese should be in line for signing bonuses worth about $179K, $99K, and $49K respectively.

With four of their six draftees now under contract, the Chargers can shift their attention to signing first-round cornerback Jason Verrett and second-round linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu. To keep tabs on all of this year’s draft pick signings, you can use this page, which will be consistently updated over the next few weeks.

AFC West Notes: Chiefs, Raiders, Broncos

With only six draft choices after the trade for quarterback Alex Smith, the Chiefs had limited resources with which to augment the roster. But, general manager John Dorsey felt fortunate to grab the players available, writes Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star.

“That board, it falls in unique ways if you have a degree of patience,” Dorsey said. “I thought today we were very lucky because each one of these guys fell in their respective rounds, and each time they fell and each time we selected them, the more we got excited.” 

One of those players was Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, whom the team selected in the fifth round, No. 163 overall. It’s an interesting selection, especially with incumbent starter Smith in contract negotiations with the team, and rumors that the talks aren’t going so well.

“This time, you’re excited about all the guys we’ve got, all the additions to the team,” Smith said, per Randy Covitz of The Kansas City Star. “Time will only tell, It’s time to get to work and get those guys in and see.”

More from the AFC West below…

  • Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie strayed from his usual ways and took players with character risks, writes Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. Utah cornerback Keith McGill, a fourth-round selection, was arrested in 2012 on suspicion of DUI and possession of stolen property. Seventh-round pick Shelby Harris has been dismissed from two schools and hasn’t played a game since 2012. “It’s twofold,” McKenzie said of the reasoning for drafting players with questionable backgrounds. “One, the selection is always a chance for a player to redeem himself. When we get a situation where you give a player an opportunity, a second chance, especially when, as of late, the issues have not been like it was in the past for them.” 
  • In a separate article, Bair writes that the McKenzie and the Raiders hoped to trade down throughout the draft but were unable to find willing partners.
  • Not wanting to reach for need, the Raiders didn’t take a receiver in the draft, Bair notes. “The receivers at that time (No. 5 and 36 overall) were not high on the board,” McKenzie said. “We’re not going to reach down and take a receiver. I would have liked to (draft) a receiver. I would have. It just didn’t fall that way.”
  • All five picks on day 3 of the draft for the Raiders were defensive players, Associated Press writer Josh Dubow scribed.
  • New Broncos wide receiver Cody Latimer is among the best blocking receivers the team has ever evaluated, Denver GM John Elway said via Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post.
  • First-round pick Bradley Roby should expect to play a key role in the Broncos‘ efforts to return to the Super Bowl, Mike Klis of The Denver Post writes.
  • The Chargers finally drafted a receiver, Baylor’s Tevin Reese, with the team’s final pick in the draft, No. 240 overall, per the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Tom Krasovic.