NFL Workout Updates: 10/31/17
Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:
Baltimore Ravens
- T Nick Callender; G Andrew Tiller (link)
Carolina Panthers
- QB Tyler Ferguson, TE Jerome Cunningham (link)
Houston Texans
- WR DeAndrew White; DTs Stefan Charles, Brandon Thompson; CBs Cody Riggs, Sojourn Shelton (Twitter links)
Indianapolis Colts
- DE Joby Saint Fleur; LBs Vontarrius Dora, Max Valles (link)
New England Patriots
- TE Gabe Holmes; LB Jayrone Elliott (link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)
New York Giants
- DE Owa Odighizuwa (link via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- QB Joel Stave; WR Devin Lucien; TE Beau Sandland; DE Patrick Gamble; CBs Marcus Burley, Jarnor Jones (link)
Tennessee Titans
- WR Mekale McKay (link)
Washington Redskins
- DL Jaye Howard, Cam Thomas (link via Adam Caplan of SiriusXM)
Winston Reinjured Shoulder vs. Bills
Tight end Eric Ebron is the biggest name being floated around by the Lions with the trade deadline looming, according to Kyle Meinke of MLive.com. General manager Bob Quinn has been aggressive since assuming the job nearly two years ago, and even pulled off a midseason deal in 2016 when he traded Kyle Van Noy to the Patriots, Meinke notes. A first-round pick out of North Carolina in 2014, the athletic tight end was expected by many to have a breakout campaign following a career year in 2016 but that has not been the case. Ebron has tallied more than two catches in a game just once this season but still possesses freakish physical traits that could lead a team to take a shot on the fourth-year pass catcher. Ebron is signed through 2018 and is due to earn $8.25MM next season.
Here’s more from the NFC:
- Jameis Winston reinjured his shoulder against the Bills in Week 7, Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter confirmed in an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link). “[Jameis] was doing better, he played very well, especially in the second half against Buffalo,” Koetter said. “We did have that one sack-fumble in the first half, and he did kind of reinjure it, and so that’s what led to him not throwing on Wednesday or Thursday this week.” Despite missing two days of practice, Winston took all reps on Friday and will start vs. Carolina in Week 8.
- The Cowboys are not looking to move any of their receivers, team vice president Stephen Jones said in a radio interview with 105.3 The Fan (Twitter link). Jones added the team has not specifically been asked about Cole Beasley‘s availability in a trade. After posting a career-high 75 catches in 2016, Beasley has hauled in just 16 grabs in the team’s first six games this season. It also doesn’t bode well for the slot receiver’s future in Dallas that the team drafted Ryan Switzer, a near carbon copy of Beasley, in the 2017 NFL Draft. Beasley is signed through 2018 and is due to make $3.25MM next season.
- The Seahawks are paying Dion Jordan $7.2K and Malik McDowell $5K per week while the two are on the NFI list, tweets Joel Corry of CBS Sports. Though a team doesn’t have to pay a player on the NFI list since the injury occurred away from the field, Seattle was able to come to terms with the two defenders. Jordan returned to practice this week, so the team has three weeks to activate him to the 53-man roster or he will not be eligible to play again this season. McDowell is still out indefinitely.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/26/17
Here are today’s practice squad moves.
Detroit Lions
- Signed: T Storm Norton
New England Patriots
- Signed: WR Jake Kumerow
- Cut: DT Mike Purcell
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Cut: DE Marquavius Lewis
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/25/2017
Today’s practice squad updates:
Carolina Panthers
- Released: WR Austin Duke
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: OL Victor Salako
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DE Stansly Maponga
Indianapolis Colts
- Claimed off waivers: C Dillon Day
New England Patriots
- Signed: DT Mike Purcell
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: OL Nate Theaker
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: DE Jhaustin Thomas
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: LB Don Cherry
- Released: DE Alex McCalister
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: DT Rodney Coe
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: CB Isaiah Johnson, DE Marquavius Lewis
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/25/2017
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Claimed off waivers: CB Lafayette Pitts
- Waived: CB Tony McRae
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted to active roster: TE Matt Lengel
Houston Texans
- Signed: LB Jelani Jenkins
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: TE Orson Charles
New England Patriots
- Promoted to active roster: LB Trevor Reilly
New York Jets
- Signed: TE Neal Sterling
- Placed on injured reserve: CB Xavier Coleman
Oakland Raiders
- Promoted to active roster: RB Elijah Hood
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: T Taylor Hart (two-year deal)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: CB Deji Olatoye
Washington Redskins
- Signed: OL Tony Bergstrom
- Waived: DT A.J. Francis
Bucs Place Noah Spence On IR
Noah Spence‘s sophomore season appears to be over after six games. The defensive end is going on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, the team announced. To take his spot, the Bucs have officially signed Darryl Tapp. 
[RELATED: Buccaneers To Sign DE Darryl Tapp]
Spence has suffered a number of shoulder dislocations during his young NFL career. He had surgery on his torn labrum in the offseason and the latest aggravation to that injury will require him to go under the knife once again. Technically, Spence can return after two months on injured reserve, but that would leave only two games in the regular season. Labrum surgery can also take a while to recover from, so it sounds like we won’t see Spence on the field again until 2018.
Spence, 23, has nine tackles and one strip sack to his credit over six games (three starts). In his full season last year, he had 5.5 sacks, 22 tackles, and three forced fumbles. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus have him in the bottom 25 among qualified edge defenders, but the Bucs were using him a decent amount. Spence totaled 246 snaps in the team’s six games this year.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/24/17
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Waived: DL Joe Vellano
Carolina Panthers
- Claimed off waivers: WR Kaelin Clay
- Placed on injured reserve: S Demetrious Cox
Denver Broncos
- Waived: C Dillon Day
Green Bay Packers
- Released from IR: OL Don Barclay
Houston Texans
- Released: CB Marcus Burley
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: OL Michael Ola
- Placed on injured reserve: OL Matt Slauson (story)
New York Jets
- Promoted to active roster: CB Robert Nelson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: S Isaiah Johnson
- Released from IR: WR Jhajuan Seales
Buccaneers To Sign DE Darryl Tapp
The Buccaneers have agreed to sign free agent defensive end Darryl Tapp, according to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).
Tampa Bay is dealing with several injuries along its defensive line, the most severe of which may be to edge rusher Noah Spence, who left Sunday’s contest with a shoulder injury and will likely miss an extended period of time. Ryan Russell is also coming back from a shoulder issue, while veteran Robert Ayers is managing a knee injury (and was able to play in Week 7).
Tapp, 33, has already had multiple stints with the division rival Saints in 2017, but hasn’t actually played a down for New Orleans since last season. He’s been more or less a rotational defensive end since 2009 (with his best and most productive years coming as a starter for the Seahawks in 2007-08), and that’s likely the role he’ll play for the Buccaneers. Tapp, who has 162 career appearances under his belt, will play behind Ayers, William Gholston, and Will Clarke in Tampa.
This isn’t the first time the Bucs have sought to add help on the edge of their defensive line. Free agent pass rusher Lamarr Houston worked out for Tampa Bay earlier this month before signing with the Texans, while the Buccaneers auditioned defensive ends Wallace Gilberry and Owa Odighizuwa alongside Tapp on Tuesday, per veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter link). Tampa also looked at cornerbacks Josh Johnson, Deji Olatoye, and Raysean Pringle, plus defensive tackle Marquavius Lewis.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/24/17
Today’s practice squad updates:
Arizona Cardinals
- Released: T Givens Price
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: DL Taniela Tupou
- Released: DL Jonathan Woodard
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: WR Kenny Bell
- Released: TE Gabe Holmes
Denver Broncos
- Signed: DL Kyle Peko, LB Kevin Snyder
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Max McCaffrey
Houston Texans
- Signed: DT Jarrod Clements
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: WR K.J. Brent, S Ronald Martin
- Released: RB Marcus Murphy
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: OL Brandon Thomas
- Released: OL Norman Price
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: T Nick Becton
New York Jets
- Signed: LB Jeremy Cash, RB Akeem Judd
- Released: S Harold Jones-Quartey
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: CB Tevin Mitchel
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released: DE Alex McCalister
Seattle Seahawks
- Released: S Tyvis Powell
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Released: DE Larry Webster
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DL Julius Warmsley
- Released: QB Tyler Ferguson
NFC Notes: Kaepernick, Ward, Saints
More is coming out about Colin Kaepernick‘s collusion lawsuit against the NFL. Kaepernick’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, recently shed some light about some of the points they will attempt to prove that collusion exists between the NFL owners in the latest episode of his Reasonable Doubt podcast. Geragos pointed out the need for a “smoking gun” that proves there is coordinated effort from owners from blocking his client from signing with a franchise. In response to a question about a potential email regarding the collusion from Roger Goodell, Geragos stated “there is very good reason to believe that that exists,” the lawyer said (transcription via Pro Football Talk). “The interesting thing will be when the discovery comes, and I expect the discovery to be very quickly.” Even with the confidence coming from the lawyer, the overall sentiment around the case is that collusion will be a difficult charge to prove, but it looks like Kaepernick and his team are serious about their lawsuit and will look far and wide to see if any hard evidence exists.
Here’s more from the NFC:
- New Buccaneers safety T.J. Ward is apparently frustrated with his part-time defensive role, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. The reporter passes along that the veteran defensive back is at his “wits end” in regards to his role on the team. Ward was not on the field during Tampa Bay’s fourth quarter collapse at the hands of the Bills. The 30 year-old expected to bring more physicality when he signed a one-year, $4MM deal with the team after he was cut by the Broncos in the preseason. Ward only has 11 total tackles on the year and looks to be on his way out of the rotation after what transpired today.
- Saints linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha could be on the trading block after his deactivation from today’s contest vs. the Packers, Larry Holder of NOLA.com speculates (Twitter link). It’s a disappointing turn of events for the former 2015 third round pick, who was benched in favor of defensive lineman Al-Quadin Muhammad. However, despite Kikaha’s struggles, the Saints defense has turned the corner in recent weeks, getting another takeaway today, after notching five turnovers last Sunday.
- In other Saints news, we have now learned that the team’s former veteran cornerback Brandon Browner was arrested for cocaine possession last May, reports Amos Moralle III of NOLA.com. Browner last appeared for the team in 2015, but was mostly ineffective with the team deciding to move on from the defensive back that following offseason.