Workout Notes: Giants, Jets, Cardinals
Thursday’s tryouts from around the NFL:
- The Giants auditioned four offensive linemen – Rob Crisp, Jason Weaver, Jon Halapio and Shahbaz Ahmed – reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (Twitter link). New York ended up signing Halapio to its practice squad. The Patriots selected Halapio in the sixth round of the 2014 draft, but he hasn’t seen any regular-season action. Crisp, Weaver and Ahmed are also devoid of experience.
- The Jets worked out defensive end Sterling Bailey, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN (Twitter link). Bailey signed with Indianapolis in May as an undrafted free agent from Georgia, but the Colts cut him from their practice squad Monday.
- The Cardinals tried out guards Kaleb Johnson and Martin Wallace, tweets Caplan. Both Johnson and Wallace have one game of pro experience under their belts.
Steelers Trim Roster To 53
The Steelers have reduced their roster to the league-mandated 53 players.
The following players have been cut:
- DT Lavon Hooks (Twitter link via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com)
- RB Brandon Brown–Dukes (Twitter link via Fowler)
- OG Shahbaz Ahmed
- OL Antoine Everett (Twitter link via Fowler)
- OL Matt Feiler (Twitter link via Fowler)
- OLB Travis Feeney (Twitter link via Fowler)
- DB Ray Vinopal (Twitter link via Fowler)
- DB Montell Garner (Twitter link via Fowler)
- WR DeMarcus Ayers
- WR Cobi Hamilton
- WR Marcus Tucker
- RB Cameron Stingily
- OL Wade Hansen
- CB Doran Grant
- CB Al-Hajj Shabazz
- CB Donald Washington
- DL Caushaud Lyons
- DL Johnny Maxey
- LB Steven Johnson
- LB Jermauria Rasco
- QB Bryn Renner
- TE Paul Lang (waived/injured)
As Fowler observes, the Steelers’ recent wave of offensive lineman cuts could be good news for B.J. Finney, who came into today firmly on the roster bubble. Feiler, like Feeney, is a practice squad candidate.
Hooks, an Ole Miss product, was signed by the Packers as a UDFA following the 2015 draft, but Green Bay cut him last August as part of the 75-man cutdown. He caught on with the Steelers in February, and at least made it to the final cutdown day, so that qualifies as progress.
Ahmed was part of the Falcons’ crop of UDFAs this year but was waived by Atlanta last month. The Temple product made the switch from defensive lineman to offensive lineman during his junior year, and he started 12 of 13 games at left guard for the feel-good Owls last year.
Rory Parks contributed to this post
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/15/16
Today’s minor moves:
- The Buccaneers have signed defensive tackle Ishmaa’ily Kitchen and waived/injured rookie safety Elijah Shumate, the club announced. Kitchen, who weighs in at 330 pounds, appeared in 40 games for the Browns from 2012-14, but saw action in only two contests last year with the Patriots and Lions.
- The Cardinals announced that they’ve waived/injured safety Durell Eskridge and re-signed safety Tyrequek Zimmerman.
- The Raiders have waived offensive lineman Torian White, per an announcement from the club. Additionally, head coach Jack Del Rio told reporters, including Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that tight end Gabe Holmes is likely headed to injured reserve.
- The Seahawks announced that they’ve waived running back Cameron Marshall and signed linebacker Quayshawn Nealy.
- The Colts have claimed guard Donovan Williams off waivers from the Bears and waived punter Michael Palardy, the team announced.
- The Steelers announced that they’ve signed linebacker Jermauria Rasco and waived long snapped Matt Dooley. Pittsburgh also reached an injury settlement with special teams ace Ross Ventrone, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
- The Jets cut defensive tackle Christo Bilukidi with a left squad designation, according to Wilson (Twitter link).
- The Panthers announced that they’ve swapped out punters, signing Kasey Redfern while waiving Swayze Waters.
- The Chargers have signed defensive tackle Kamal Johnson, linebacker Zach Hodges, and linebacker James Vaughters, and waived waived cornerback Carrington Byndom.
- The Rams have signed safety Michael Caputo and waived/injured safety Brian Randolph, tweets Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times.
- The Packers have waived/injured long snapper Jesse Schmitt and will likely release him with an injury settlement, according to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link).
- The Falcons have claimed guard Jordan Walsh off waivers from the Saints and waived fellow guard Shahbaz Ahmed, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.
Falcons Agree To Sign 22 UDFAs
SATURDAY, 6:05pm: The Falcons announced that they’ve added a trio of undrafted free agents on Saturday:
- OL Shahbaz Ahmed (Temple)
- WR David Glidden (Oklahoma State)
- DE Brandon Williams (Southern Illinois).
The Falcons also announced that they waived four of their previously signed undrafted free agents: Gerald Dixon Jr., Alex Fifita, Malachi Jones, and David Richards.
THURSDAY, 4:21pm: Despite the fact that Atlanta only selected six players during last weekend’s draft, the Falcons’ rookie minicamp will be a busy place. The team confirmed today that it has signed 22 undrafted free agents to fill out its roster, with another 27 free agent rookies headed to the minicamp to try out for the club.
The full list of 27 tryout players can be found right here. Listed below are the 22 players who have agreed to contracts with the Falcons:
- DE Josh Dawson (Georgia)
- DT Gerald Dixon Jr. (South Carolina)
- OL Cody Elenz (Lamar)
- OL Alex Fifita (Fresno State)
- LB Torrey Green (Utah State)
- DT Cory Johnson (Kentucky)
- WR Daje Johnson (Texas)
- CB Devonte Johnson (Weber State)
- WR Malachi Jones (Appalachian State)
- NT Chris Mayes (Georgia)
- WR J.D. McKissic (Arkansas State)
- LB Ivan McLennan (Washington State)
- CB David Mims II (Texas State)
- DB Sharrod Neasman (Florida Atlantic)
- TE Joshua Perkins (Washington)
- DB Brian Poole (Florida)
- FB Will Ratelle (North Dakota)
- OL Jake Reed (Indiana)
- WR David Richards (Arizona)
- K Nick Rose (Texas)
- CB Jordan Sefon (St. Cloud State)
- RB Brandon Wilds (South Carolina)