Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/17
Today’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Placed on injured reserve: WR Rueben Randle
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed off waivers: DL Shaneil Jenkins
- Waived/injured: TE Beau Sandland
Houston Texans
- Signed: WR Germone Hopper
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived: S Adrian McDonald
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: CB Dejaun Butler, WR Rashad Lawrence, CB Robenson Therezie, K Patrick Murray
New York Jets
- Signed: CB Robenson Therezie
- Waived: FB Algernon Brown
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Rashard Davis
- Waived: CB Mitchell White
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: OL Richard Levy
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: WR Rodney Smith (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)
- Waived: DL Shaneil Jenkins
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: K Zach Hocker
Washington Redskins
- Signed: OL Kendall Pace, LB Ron Thompson Jr.
- Waived: S Tim Scott
- Waived/injured: WR Kendal Thompson
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/11/17
Here are today’s minor moves.
- The Vikings placed Bishop Sankey on IR, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Minnesota signed the former Titans second-round pick to a reserve/futures contract in January, but an MRI Friday revealed Sankey tore an ACL. He will miss the season. Sankey hasn’t played in a game since 2015.
- Cut by both the 49ers and Jets in August, Bruce Ellington caught on with a third team this month. The Texans agreed to terms with the wide receiver/return specialist, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports. The Jets waived Ellington with an injury designation, but a Friday workout with the Texans provided a green light for the franchise to sign him. The Texans are currently reeling at wideout. In addition to Will Fuller‘s absence, Braxton Miller and DeAndrew White aren’t practicing. Ellington missed all of last season with a torn hamstring.
- The Jaguars signed veteran running back Jonathan Grimes and waived running back Tyler Gaffney with an injury designation, the team announced. Grimes is a five-year NFL veteran whose most notable work came as a backup for the Texans from 2012-16. He gained 455 yards from scrimmage in 2015, the final year Arian Foster suffered a severe injury.
- Defensive end Keionta Davis agreed to terms with the Patriots, who cut cornerback Dwayne Thomas to make room, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. A rookie out of Chattanooga, Davis was invited to the Combine but wasn’t drafted or signed after the draft.
- The Chargers re-signed tight end Matt Weiser, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (on Twitter). A University of Buffalo alum, Weiser spent time with the Bolts during their final San Diego camp last summer but was cut just before the season.
- The Colts reached injury settlements with tight end (and former VCU basketball standout) Mo Alie-Cox and wideout Harvey Binford, Wilson tweets.
- Mykkele Thompson‘s time as a Giants secondary cog could be coming to a close. After Big Blue cut Thompson — a fifth-round pick in 2015 — on Thursday, he cleared waivers. NJ.com’s Dan Duggan expects an injury settlement to follow (Twitter link). Duggan notes this Thompson is battling a minor quadriceps injury.
Latest On Mike Williams' Recovery
Chargers first-round wide receiver Mike Williams, who has been dealing with a back injury since May, is “running” and “doing well,” head coach Anthony Lynn told reporters, including Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com. Lynn suggested last week that Williams might not play at all this year, which came after the Chargers announced that the ex-Clemson star will miss all of training camp. However, they continue to hold out hope he’ll be healthy in time for the regular season, writes Eric Williams.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/7/17
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Waived/injured: TE Keith Towbridge
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Alton Howard
- Waived: K Andy Phillips
Houston Texans
- Waived: TE Zach Conque
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DT Maurice Swain
- Waived: LB Reshard Cliett
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: TE Mike Estes, WR Cameron Posey
- Waived/injured: TE Asante Cleveland
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived/injured: WR Bradley Marquez
Miami Dolphins
- Waived: DE Arthur Miley
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: TE Jake McGee
- Waived/injured: TE Scott Orndoff
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: T Darrell Brown
- Waived: S Jordan Simone
Washington Redskins
- Signed: S Tim Scott
- Waived: S Josh Evans, S Earl Wolff
- Waived from IR: DB Lou Young
Brandon Flowers To Retire
Veteran cornerback Brandon Flowers will formally announce his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday, according to Steve Wyche of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Flowers, 31, is currently a free agent and had drawn interest since being released by the Chargers earlier this year. He met with the Cardinals last month, but Arizona chose another experienced defensive back — former Brown Tramon Williams — over Flowers. Additionally, the Steelers and Patriots both put in calls to Flowers and his representation, but neither team ever set up a (known) visit.
Originally selected by the Chiefs in the second round of the 2008 draft, Flowers became an instant starter for Kansas City, teaming with fellow 2008 draftee Brandon Carr to give the Chiefs one of the league’s more underrated corner duos. Flowers started 87 games for Kansas City over the course of six years, posting 17 interceptions during that time. A scheme change in 2013 led to a down season for Flowers, and he was subsequently released.
Flowers stayed in the AFC West, inking a one-year deal with the division rival Chargers. After an excellent San Diego debut in 2014, Flowers signed a new four-year, $36MM pact to stay with the Chargers. Injuries began to take their toll the following season, however, as Flowers missed five games in 2015 before concussions limited him to six contests in 2016. The Chargers cut ties this spring, and Flowers had sat on the open market since.
While he may have never been a household name, Flowers was an outstanding defensive back for nearly a decade. From 2008-15, Flowers was the NFL’s 21st most valuable cornerback in terms of weighted approximate value, Pro Football Reference’s catch-call metric. PFR extends Flowers all the best in retirement and congratulates him on a superb career.
Chargers Release Darrell Stuckey
The Chargers have released safety Darrell Stuckey with a failed physical designation, tweets James Palmer of NFL Network. Stuckey was on the active/physically unable to perform list with a knee injury that he suffered in the team’s final game of the 2016 season.
The 30-year-old Stuckey had been with the Chargers since they used a fourth-round pick on him in 2010, which made him one of their longest-tenured players. Stuckey appeared in 89 games with the Bolts, including all 16 last year, and never made a significant defensive impact. However, he was regularly among their most reliable special teamers. Stuckey paced the unit in snaps last season (368), and he earned a Pro Bowl berth for his output in that phase of the game in 2014.
Thanks to his superb work on special teams, Stuckey was more expensive than most players who specialize in that area. Releasing him saves the Chargers $2.9MM (compared to $433,750 in dead money), but it wasn’t an easy decision for general manager Tom Telesco.
“For the past seven years, Darrell has been a difference maker for our franchise both on and off the field,” Telesco said in a press release (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). “He followed up a Pro Bowl season in 2014 by being named the Chargers Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2015. You couldn’t ask for a better person to represent the organization than Darrell, and we want to sincerely thank him not only for what he has meant to the Chargers, but for what he has meant to the community as a whole. Darrell, his wife Lacie, and his children will always be part of the Chargers family, and we wish them all the best now and in the future.”
Chargers Waive-Injured Dillon DeBoer
Los Angeles Chargers
Chargers Work Out Barrett Gouger
- The Chargers worked out undrafted rookie center Barrett Gouger on Thursday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Gouger’s audition came after the Bolts lost guard Forrest Lamp, an expected starter, to a torn ACL on Wednesday
Chargers Sign Barrett Gouger
- The Chargers signed center Barrett Gouger, who worked out for the team Thursday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Gouger’s an undrafted rookie from Vanderbilt.
Chargers’ Forrest Lamp Suffers Torn ACL
Chargers guard Forrest Lamp suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during practice on Wednesday, per a team announcement. The rookie second-round pick will miss the season as a result. Adam Schefter of ESPN first reported the news (Twitter link).
With Lamp and rookie wide receiver Mike Williams dealing with significant injuries, the Chargers are in real danger of not having either of their top two picks this season. Williams, the Chargers’ first-rounder, is dealing with a back problem that head coach Anthony Lynn recently admitted could keep him out for the year. Lamp’s issue will take the 38th overall selection out of play for 2017. It also continues a string of horrible injury-related luck for the Chargers, who placed a whopping 27 players on IR during a five-win 2016 campaign.
Lamp, formerly with Western Kentucky, looked like a potential first-rounder leading up to the draft. After landing with the Chargers early in Round 2, he seemed poised to serve as an immediate starter at right guard on a line that Football Outsiders ranked among the NFL’s worst last season. Los Angeles does have several interior O-line options on hand even without Lamp, as Roster Resource shows, though losing the rookie still counts as a notable setback.