Minor NFL Transactions: 9/12/17
Today’s minor roster moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Cut: T Ulrick John
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Tanner Gentry
- Released from IR: WR Rueben Randle
Cincinnati Bengals
- Cut: DT Christian Ringo
Green Bay Packers
- Cut: CB LaDarius Gunter
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: OT Cornelius Lucas
- Cut: DL Quinton Jefferson, C/G J.J Dielman
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: OT Bryce Harris
- Cut: LB Adam Bighill
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: ILB Steven Johnson
- Cut: LB L.J. Fort
Cardinals Move Evan Mathis To IR
Injuries have interrupted Evan Mathis‘ Cardinals campaign at every turn, and the latest setback may end the veteran guard’s year. The Cardinals placed Mathis on IR due to the ankle injury he sustained against the 49ers on Thursday night, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com reports.
The Cardinals replaced Mathis on their roster by signing Ulrick John off the Dolphins’ practice squad, per Urban.
Already playing after suffering turf toe and a mid-foot sprain this season, Mathis went down late in the first half of Arizona’s Week 5 victory. He will be unable to return to the team for at least eight games, if the Cardinals determine Mathis a realistic candidate to come off IR. Earlier this week, Bruce Arians said the team is considering bringing either Chris Johnson or Tyvon Branch off the IR list. Both are recovering from hernia surgeries.
Teams can only bring one player from IR back onto the active roster.
The 34-year-old Mathis signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals this offseason, doing so after his one-year pact with the Broncos translated into him receiving a Super Bowl ring for his work as the 2015 champions’ starting left guard. The former Eagles first-team All-Pro graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 run-blocking guard last season despite playing through injuries.
Arizona is expected to start fourth-year blocker Earl Watford in Mathis’ right guard spot.
Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC East
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC East 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 Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, and Jets 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 East transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day (all links go to Twitter unless noted otherwise):
Buffalo Bills
- Claimed:
- FB Dan Vitale (Link via PFT)
- Waived:
- LB Jamari Lattimore (story)
- Signed to practice squad:
- C Gabe Ikard (Post via NFL.com)
- K Jordan Gay
- WR Dezmin Lewis
- CB Doran Grant (link via Joe Buscaglia)
- WR Matt Hazel (link via Joe Buscaglia)
- LB Max Valles (link via Joe Buscaglia)
Miami Dolphins
- Claimed:
- WR Justin Hunter (story)
- Waived:
- WR Griff Whalen (link via Armando Salguero)
- Signed to practice squad:
- OT Ulrick John (Link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)
- WR Rashawn Scott (link via Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel)
- S A.J. Hendy (link via Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel)
- LB James Burgess (story)
- G Jamil Douglas (story)
- TE Thomas Duarte (story)
- DE Cleyon Laing (story)
- CB Lafayette Pitts (story)
- DE Jordan Williams (story)
- OLB Brandon Watts (Link via Wilson)
New England Patriots
- Signed to practice squad:
- RB Bishop Sankey (story)
- DE Rufus Johnson (link via Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald)
- Ol Chris Barker (Link via Doug Kyed)
- WR Devin Street (Link via Mike Reiss)
- DE Geneo Grissom (Link via Reiss)
- WR Devin Lucien (Link via Reiss)
- DT Woodrow Hamilton (Link via Reiss)
- OL Clay DeBord (Link via Kyed)
New York Jets
- Claimed:
- TE Braedon Bowman (Link via PFT)
- TE Brian Parker
- RB Troymaine Pope
- DB Darryl Roberts
- Waived:
- CB Dexter McDougle
- S Ronald Martin
- RB Dominique Williams
- RB Khiry Robinson (waived/injured)
- Signed to practice squad:
- LB Freddie Bishop (link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY)
- OL Mike Liedtke (link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY)
- S Doug Middleton (link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY)
- DE Claude Pelon (link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY)
- WR Chandler Worthy (link via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY)
- CB Bryson Keeton (link via Darryl Slater)
- WR Myles White (link via Darryl Slater)
- C Craig Watts
Dolphins Move Roster To 53
The Dolphins have trimmed their roster to 53:
- RB Daniel Thomas (Twitter link via Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald)
- OL Sam Young (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com)
- DL Chris Jones
- DB Rashaan Melvin (Twitter link via Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post)
- CB Chimdi Chekwa (Twitter link via Mike Florio of PFT)
- TE Dominique Jones (Twitter link via Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald)
- DB Shamiel Gary (Twitter link via Jackson)
- DT DeAndre Coleman (Twitter link via Jackson)
- DE Cleyon Laing (Twitter link via Jackson)
- DE Jordan Williams (Twitter link via Jackson)
- G Jamil Douglas (Twitter link via Jackson)
- WR Rashawn Scott (Twitter link via Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald)
- OT Ulrick John (Twitter link via Jackson)
- TE Thomas Duarte (Twitter link via Jackson)
- CB Lafayette Pitts (Twitter link via Jackson)
- QB Zac Dysert (Twitter link via Jackson)
- LB James Burgess
- LB Tyler Gray
- S A.J. Hendy
- DE Cedric Reed
- LB James-Michael Johnson
This offseason, Thomas hooked on with the Dolphins for what was to be his third stint with the team. Thomas had a path to making the 53-man roster, but his chances were hurt when the team added Arian Foster late in the offseason. In four seasons with Miami, Thomas ran for 1,480 yards off of 409 attempts, good for just 3.6 yards per carry. In 2014, he saw time in 12 games, rushing for 168 yards off of 44 carries, good for a 3.8 yard average on each try. At one point in time, Thomas was looked at as a significant piece of the Dolphins offense, but he fell out of favor in Miami and has been yo-yoed on and off the roster.
Chekwa at one point was in the mix to win a starting job with Miami. However, for one reason or another, he couldn’t make the final cut. The Dolphins now have rookie Xavien Howard back on the field and free agent addition Chris Culliver, so they have enough bodies at cornerback.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/4/16
Earlier today, we rounded up the latest decisions on restricted free agent tenders. Now, we’ll shift our focus to the day’s exclusive-rights free agent tenders, for players with fewer than three years of NFL experience. here’s the latest:
- The Dolphins tendered ERFA offers to six players today, including defensive back Michael Thomas, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter links). The other players to get tenders were safety Shamiel Gary, wide receiver Matt Hazel, offensive lineman Ulrick John, cornerback Tyler Patmon, and tight end Jake Stoneburner.
- Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (via Twitter), the Dolphins didn’t tender ERFA tight end Brandon Williams. That leaves defensive tackle Robert Thomas as the only one of Miami’s eight ERFAs whose situation wasn’t reported on today.
- The 49ers have tendered offensive lineman Jordan Devey, reports Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.
- Washington has tendered offers to all three of its exclusive-rights free agents, according to John Keim of ESPN.com, who reports that linebacker Will Compton, running back Chris Thompson, and punter Tress Way will be retained.
- The Giants have tendered a contract offer to ERFA punter Brad Wing, tweets Pelissero. They’ve done the same with running back Orleans Darkwa, tight ends Jerome Cunningham and Will Tye, safety Bennett Jackson, receiver Myles White and offensive lineman Adam Gettis, writes Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. Wideout Marcus Harris did not receiver a tender and is now an unrestricted free agent, Vacchiano adds.
- The Chiefs have issued ERFA tenders to defensive linemen David King and tackle Nick Williams, according to Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star, who tweets (links: 1, 2) that running back Charcandrick West and safety Daniel Sorensen also received tenders.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/31/15
Here are today’s minor moves:
- The Dolphins placed Cameron Wake on season-ending injured reserve after the star pass-rusher tore his Achilles’ tendon against the Patriots on Thursday night, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets. The four-time Pro Bowler will be 34 next season.
- In addition, the Dolphins pilfered one of their AFC rivals’ practice squad players in signing tackle Ulrick John from the Colts‘ 10-man taxi unit, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (on Twitter). A seventh-round pick of Indianapolis’ last year, John’s been with the Colts since last season but hasn’t received any game action. Miami’s now dealing with the loss of starting right tackle Ja’Wuan James for several weeks, creating the need for an extra man at the position.
- The Raiders promoted linebacker Korey Toomer to their 53-man roster and cut defensive end Shelby Harris, according to Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). A fifth-round pick of the Seahawks’ in 2012, Toomer played in eight games with the Rams and Cowboys last season. Per the Associated Press’ Josh Dubow (via Twitter), Toomer has 139 career special teams snaps and no defensive plays on his resume.
- With J.T. Thomas out for Sunday’s Week 8 game and Jon Beason questionable, the Giants signed linebacker James Morris off their practice squad and cut cornerback Brandon McGee, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News reports (on Twitter). The 24-year-old Morris spent time with the Patriots last year prior to landing on the Giants’ practice squad. He’s yet to suit up in a game.
- The Titans made a repeat transaction in signing wide receiver Rico Richardson from their practice squad and cutting tight end Chase Coffman to make room, Jim Wyatt of Titans Online tweets. Cut earlier this week in favor of Coffman, Richardson will be needed for depth purposes for a second straight Sunday, with Harry Douglas out again with a rib injury, Wyatt reports (on Twitter).
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 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 AFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
Houston Texans
- Signed to practice squad:
- G Karim Barton (Twitter link via John McClain)
- WR Alan Bonner (Twitter link via McClain)
- ILB Max Bullough (Twitter link via Mark Berman)
- S Kurtis Drummond (Twitter link via McClain)
- QB Zac Dysert (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson)
- RB Kenny Hilliard (Twitter link via Wilson)
- S Corey Moore (Twitter link via McClain)
- TE Eric Tomlinson (Twitter link via Tony Pauline)
- WR Chandler Worthy (Twitter link via Wilson)
Indianapolis Colts
- Claimed off waivers:
- DT T.Y. McGill (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport)
- G Robert Myers (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson)
- Cut:
- LB Amarlo Herrera (Twitter link via Stephen Holder)
- RB Dan Herron (link)
- Signed to practice squad (via press release)
- OLB Daniel Adongo
- G David Arkin
- WR Quan Bray
- WR Duron Carter
- T Ulrick John
- S Dewey McDonald
- ILB Josh McNary
- CB Eric Patterson
- DT Jeris Pendleton
- TE Erik Swoope
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed to practice squad (via press release):
- DL Richard Ash
- TE Ben Koyack
- S Craig Loston
- OL Chris Reed
- WR Neal Sterling
- LB Todd Thomas
- DB Peyton Thompson
- WR Tony Washington
Tennessee Titans
- Claimed off waivers:
- OLB David Bass (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport)
- ILB Steven Johnson (Twitter link via Rapoport)
- Acquired via trade:
- RB Terrance West, from Browns (link)
- Cut:
- Signed to practice squad (Twitter link via Jim Wyatt):
- S Josh Aubrey
- RB David Fluellen
- G Josue Matias
- WR Tre McBride
- G Will Poehls
- WR Rico Richardson
- TE Tevin Westbrook
Colts Cut Duron Carter, Finalize Roster
The Colts have reached the mandated 53-man roster today, making a handful of interesting moves along the way. One notable bubble player, running back Vick Ballard, remains on the roster, but plenty of other notable players have been let go, including wide receiver Duron Carter.
Here’s the full list of transactions out of Indianapolis, per a team release:
Released:
- G David Arkin
- WR Vincent Brown
Waived:
- OLB Daniel Adongo
- QB Bryan Bennett
- WR Quan Bray
- WR Duron Carter
- CB Chance Casey
- NT Josh Chapman
- ILB Carlos Fields
- DT Montori Hughes
- T Ulrick John
- OLB Cam Johnson
- S Dewey McDonald
- TE Sean McGrath
- ILB Henoc Muamba
- G Kitt O’Brien
- CB Eric Patterson
- DT Kelcy Quarles
- TE Erik Swoope
- CB Raymon Taylor
- RB Zurlon Tipton
Placed on injured reserve:
- DT Arthur Jones
- ILB Junior Sylvestre
The Colts required 23 roster moves to get from 75 to 53 in order to accommodate one addition — linebacker Sio Moore, who was acquired in a Friday trade with the Raiders.
Colts Place Ballard, John, Karim On IR
The Colts have reduced their roster count from 79 players to 75 without waiving or releasing anyone, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun, who reports (via Twitter) that Indianapolis has made the following roster moves:
Placed on injured reserve list:
- Vick Ballard, RB
- Ulrick John, OT
- Deji Karim, RB
Placed on reserve/PUP list:
- Stanley Havili, RB
The three players placed on IR won’t have to pass through waivers, since the Colts waited until the first roster cutdown date to move them to the injured reserve list. As for Havili, he’ll be eligible to return to the team’s active list after the season’s first six weeks.
Extra Points: Herman, Finnegan, Boone, Colts
Over at ESPN.com, Jim Trotter has published an interesting piece on why teams are inclined to pay big bucks to lock up non-elite quarterbacks.
“Teams are just afraid to say, ‘Let’s start again, because we literally do not have a legitimate chance to win a Super Bowl with the quarterback that we have,’” one club president told Trotter. “They’d rather have an average to above-average quarterback than wait to get a great quarterback. I think it’s more than fair to say that the fear of the unknown is greater than the fear of the known.”
Let’s check in on a few more odds and ends from around the NFL….
- Giants offensive lineman Eric Herman has been suspended for four games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, tweets Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports. The NFLPA released a statement on behalf of Herman explaining the positive test.
- Cornerback Cortland Finnegan tells Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com that he considered a pitch from the Falcons this offseason before ultimately reaching an agreement with the Dolphins (Twitter link).
- In the wake of the 49ers‘ first preseason contest, it doesn’t sound as if there has been any movement on contract talks with holdout guard Alex Boone, tweets Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group.
- As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk details, former Colts running back Chris Rainey doesn’t seem to believe he should have been cut by Indianapolis for breaking team rules, and took to Twitter to vent last night. Rainey, a free agent, has since deleted the tweets.
- The Colts’ offensive line is thinning out, with both Khaled Holmes and rookie Ulrick John suffering injuries this week. According to Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star (via Twitter), the team believes Holmes may have sprained his left ankle, which would sideline him for a few weeks. As for John, Stephen Holder of the Star reports (via Twitter) that his ankle might be broken. Meanwhile, Xavier Nixon tweeted today that he’s set to undergo surgery, presumably on the knee that his been bothering him.
