Minor NFL Transactions: 9/20/17
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: LB Philip Wheeler
Cleveland Browns
- Signed off Ravens‘ practice squad: CB Reggie Porter
Los Angeles Chargers
- Placed on NFI: OL Chris Hairston
- Signed off Titans‘ practice squad: OL Tyler Marz
New Orleans Saints
- Promoted to active roster: DT David Parry
- Placed on IR: DT Mitchell Loewen
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted to active roster: WR Zach Pascal
- Placed on IR: LB Aaron Wallace
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
Titans Move Roster To 53
The Titans have announced their final 53-man roster, moving from the 90-man limit down to the regular-season standard on Saturday. Here’s who Tennessee cut to get down to 53 (via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com).
Cut:
- CB Manny Abad
- TE Jace Amaro
- DL Angelo Blackson
- NT DeAngelo Brown
- TE Jerome Cunningham
- QB Tyler Ferguson
- CB Demontre Hurst
- WR Darius Jennings
- S Denzel Johnson
- WR Jonathan Krause
- WR KeVonn Mabon
- OL Tyler Marz
- OL Josue Matias
- WR Tre McBride
- T Steven Moore
- RB Khalfani Muhammad
- WR Giovanni Pascascio
- T Jonah Pirsig
- RB Brandon Radcliff
- DE Cameron Robbins
- T Brad Seaton
- TE Tim Semisch
- G Jake Simonich
- CB Darrius Sims
- CB D’Joun Smith
- C Mark Spelman
- LB Justin Staples
- WR Eric Weems
- NT Antwaun Woods
- QB Alex Tanney
Waived/injured:
- FB Joe Bacci
- LS Ryan DiSalvo
- RB Akeem Judd
- DL Jimmy Staten
Placed on IR:
- WR Tajae Sharpe (story)
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/2/17
Here are today’s reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2017 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters.
Baltimore Ravens
- WR Kenny Bell
- OL Jarell Broxton
- RB Stephen Houston
- OL Jarrod Pughsley
- OL Matt Skura
- QB Dustin Vaughan
Carolina Panthers
- T Blaine Clausell
- DT Eric Crume
- WR Keyarris Garrett
- CB Tyler Patmon
- RB Jalen Simmons
- TE Scott Simonson
- T Pearce Slater
- T Tyrus Thompson
- TE Eric Wallace
Titans Cut Justin Hunter, Bishop Sankey
4:00pm: The Titans have made more cuts this afternoon, including another big name. Running back/wide receiver Dexter McCluster has been let go. McCluster averaged 4.5 yards per carry last season in Tennessee and averaged 8.4 yards per reception, but the Titans saw a better use for his roster spot. McCluster already pocketed a $350k roster bonus earlier this year, but the Titans will save $2.275MM in cash by cutting him.
Here is the full, updated list of Titans cuts so far:
- WR Justin Hunter
- RB Bishop Sankey
- RB/WR Dexter McCluster
- G Jeremiah Poutasi
- FB Sam Bergen (via ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky on Twitter)
- LB J.R. Tavai (via Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com on Twitter)
- TE Alex Ellis
- TE Jerome Cunningham
- RB David Fluellen
- DT Antwaun Woods
- WR Ben Roberts
- CB B.W. Webb (Twitter link via McCormick)
- LB Curtis Grant (via Kuharsky on Twitter)
- OL Will Poehls (via Kuharsky on Twitter)
- CB Kalan Reed (via McCormick on Twitter)
- WR Ben Hunter (via Kuharsky on Twitter)
- DB Marqueston Huff (via Rand Getlin of NFL.com on Twitter)
- C Ronald Patrick
- T Tyler Marz (Twitter link via McCormick)
- WR Andrew Turzilli
- LB Justin Staples
- S Curtis Riley
- K Aldrick Rosas
11:07am: The Titans have jettisoned a pair of notable players from the old front office regime. Wide receiver Justin Hunter and running back Bishop Sankey have both been cut, as Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com reports (Twitter links). 
Hunter, an exceptionally talented receiver, was drafted 34th overall in 2013. Since then, the Titans have been frustrated with Hunter and there have been rumblings that his work ethic was not up to par. Days ago, the Titans shipped out another talented wide receiver with perceived motivation problems when they traded Dorial Green-Beckham to the Eagles.
“It is still going to be hard (to make the team) because we have a lot of talented receivers in the group. We are fighting for spots, and you have to keep up and progress at the same time,” said the 25-year-old Hunter last month, acknowledging that his spot on the roster was not guaranteed.
Hunter has an uninspiring 68 receptions and eight touchdowns in 35 career games (13 starts). While Hunter has averaged an impressive 16.8 yards per catch, that number dropped to a career-worst 12.0 on 22 grabs last season. The 2015 campaign was a short one for Hunter, who only appeared in nine games as a result of a mid-November fractured ankle.
Sankey was once viewed as the Titans’ best running back and was expected to break out as a rookie in 2014. Sankey, 24 later this month, appeared in all 16 games for the Titans as a rookie but amassed only 569 yards off of 152 carries. Last season, Sankey’s role was reduced even further has he had only 47 rushing attempts for 193 yards in 13 games.
The surprising cuts didn’t stop there. The Titans are going to waive guard Jeremiah Poutasi, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Poutasi was an early third-round pick of the Titans last year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Titans Cut Damaris Johnson, Add 11 UDFAs
The Titans, one of the last teams in the NFL to formally announce their undrafted free agent class, have done so today, confirming in a press release that they’ve agreed to terms with 11 rookies who weren’t selected in the 2016 draft. The team announced that it has reached deals with six members of its ’16 draft class as well.
In addition to bringing in 11 undrafted free agents and locking up six draftees, the team also announced that it has waived two veteran players — wide receiver Damaris Johnson and cornerback Steven Clarke. A former Vanderbilt CB, Clarke spent last summer with the Dolphins but has never appeared in an NFL regular season game. Johnson, on the other hand, has played in 44 career contests, most notably catching 31 balls for 331 yards and a touchdown during the 2014 season for the Texans.
Here’s the complete list of the Titans’ 11 incoming UDFAs:
- DE Mehdi Abdesmad (Boston College)
- S Lamarcus Brutus (Florida State) ($5K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
- T Sam Carlson (Colorado State)
- WR Rashon Ceaser (Louisiana-Monroe)
- TE Alex Ellis (Tennessee)
- DE Iosia Iosia (West Texas A&M)
- DE Terrell Lathan (TCU)
- T Tyler Marz (Wisconsin)
- T Nick Ritcher (Richmond)
- K Aldrick Rosas (Southern Oregon) ($1K bonus, per Wilson)
- NT Antwaun Woods (USC)
And here’s the list of Titans draft picks who have agreed to terms with the team so far:
- 2-43: Austin Johnson, DL (Penn State)
- 2-45: Derrick Henry, RB (Alabama)
- 5-140: Tajae Sharpe, WR (Massachusetts)
- 5-157: LeShaun Sims, CB (Southern Utah)
- 7-222: Aaron Wallace, LB (UCLA)
- 7-253: Kalan Reed, DB (Southern Mississippi)
First-round tackle Jack Conklin and second-round edge defender Kevin Dodd are among the draftees who have yet to finalize contracts with the club.