Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday
Here’s the latest practice squad news from around the NFL..
- The Jaguars have re-signed two players to their practice squad in receiver Kerry Taylor and tight end Marcel Jensen, reports John Oehser of the O-Zone (via Twitter). The team has waived tight end Michael Egnew and linebacker Marcus Whitfield to make room for the new additions.
- The Cardinals have re-signed punter Drew Butler to the practice squad, reports Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter). They have released defensive tackle Christian Tupou to make room for Butler.
- The Jets are continuing to upgrade their cornerback position, signing LeQuan Lewis to the 53-man roster from their practice squad, reports Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). Another cornerback, Marcus Williams, took Lewis’ spot on the practice squad, reports Brian Costello of the New York Post (via Twitter).
Earlier Updates:
- The 49ers re-signed tight end Asante Cleveland to the practice squad, according to CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Barrows (on Twitter).
- The Saints signed center Alex Parsons to their practice squad and released guard Antoine McClain to make room, according to Ramon Antonio Vargas of The Advocate (on Twitter).
- The Giants announced that they have added former Raiders wide receiver Juron Criner to their practice squad, according to Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter). To make room, they have released fellow wide receiver L’Damian Washington.
- The Buccaneers have filled their practice squad openings by adding fullback/tight end Ian Thompson, linebacker Shayne Skov, and defensive end T.J. Fatinkun, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com (on Twitter). Skov was expected to sign with Tampa Bay following a successful workout.
- The Titans announced on Twitter that they have added quarterback Brad Sorensen to their practice squad and released cornerback Ri’Shard Anderson to make room.
Extra Points: Pitta, Ravens, 49ers, Tedford
To the surprise of some, Redskins lineman Chris Baker won’t be suspended for his hit on Eagles quarterback Nick Foles on Sunday, writes Mark Maske of the Washington Post. “Baker didn’t do anything wrong with that hit,” NFL’s executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said. “When you look at the rule, he didn’t do anything illegal. People can say it’s a cheap shot and you can talk about whether it might fall under unsportsmanlike conduct. But when you know the rule and you look at the play, he didn’t hit him in the head. He didn’t hit him in the neck. We looked at it. I looked at it very closely. He’s not going to be fined for that.” Here’s more from around the NFL..
- Dennis Pitta‘s hip surgery was “successful,” a Ravens source tells Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). The tight end’s season is over after his unfortunate injury on Sunday.
- Multiple teams called to set up tryouts when Deonte Thompson cleared waivers but he was already in the process of re-signing with the Ravens, tweets Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun.
- Former 49ers linebacker Shayne Skov was in Tampa today where the Buccaneers are eying him for their practice squad, tweets Matt Barrows of CSNBayArea.com.
- Buccaneers offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford is taking an indefinite leave due to his medical situation, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Tedford underwent a coronary angioplasty prior to the season and had two stents placed in an artery near his heart.
Workout Notes: Cox, Beauharnais, Stanzi
The Eagles didn’t bring in any offensive linemen for workouts today or Monday, a league source tells Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Daily News (on Twitter). Plenty of teams are busy auditioning players, however. We did a roundup of workout news earlier today and we have a whole ‘nother batch right here..
- Defensive back Derek Cox and linebacker Steve Beauharnais are among the busiest free agents in the NFL, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. Cox tried out for the Saints while Beauharnais worked out for the Buccaneers, a source tells Yates.
- The Lions worked out defensive backs Chance Casey, T.J. Heath, Aaron Hester, and Kendall James, and wide receiver Ifeanyi Momah, tweets Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com.
- The Giants worked out quarterback Ricky Stanzi, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter). The Giants also worked out safeties Bacarri Rambo, Corey Lynch and Jerron McMillian and wide receiver Juron Criner, according to Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter).
- The Packers took a look at linebacker Nate Askew, running back Stephen Houston, running back Cameron White, and tackle Michael Philipp, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Guard Josh Walker was also part of today’s tryouts and he wound up getting signed to Green Bay’s practice squad.
- Nose tackle Ryan Pickett tried out for the Texans, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com. The veteran started 16 games for Green Bay last season.
Bucs Sign Louis Murphy, Waive Chris Owusu
The Bucs have re-signed wide receiver Louis Murphy and released wide receiver Chris Owusu, according to Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune (on Twitter). Murphy worked out for Tampa Bay yesterday.
Murphy was a fourth-round pick of the Raiders, where he enjoyed some success. Murphy is known for his blazing speed, but he’s never been able to put it all together at the NFL level. He also spent some time with the Giants and Panthers, before joining the Buccaneers in March. The Bucs cut the former University of Florida star roughly three weeks ago, so we hope he didn’t bother packing up his stuff.
Owusu, 24, has spent parts of the last three seasons with the Buccaneers, seeing action in 17 games, hauling in 16 catches for 158 receiving yards and a touchdown. In the season opener against the Panthers, he caught two passes for 20 yards and a touchdown, the first of his NFL career. He also had a 45 yard kickoff return in Week 2 against the Rams.
In addition to signing Murphy and dropping Owusu, the Bucs announced that they have cut defensive end Adrian Robinson, linebacker Ka’Lial Glaud, and safety Kimario McFadden from their practice squad.
Extra Points: Hall, Pryor, Ravens, Rambo
Now that his season is over prematurely, Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall will focus on making his younger teammates better, writes Zac Boyer of The Washington Times. “I was just trying to coach them up — just trying to let them know, ‘Now is the time,’” Hall said. “It’s their time to go out there and make plays. We need them. We need them now more than ever.” Here’s tonight’s look around the NFL..
- The Buccaneers worked out quarterback Terrelle Pryor but they did not sign him, tweets Ira Kaufman of the Tampa Bay Tribune. There may not be a match with Pryor, but he won’t be the last quarterback Tampa Bay looks at. Pryor was cut by the Seahawks in late August and even though the Rams showed some interest, nothing came of that. The Bucs also worked out wide receivers Juron Criner and Louis Murphy, according to Howard Balzer of USA Today (on Twitter).
- Ravens coach John Harbaugh says his club plans to bolster the tight end position, tweets Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Baltimore look out-of-house after losing Dennis Pitta for the season.
- The Bears worked out three defensive backs on Saturday: Bacarri Rambo, former Seahawks safety Dion Bailey, and Bryan McCann, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Rambo, a sixth-round pick in the 2013 draft, was waived by the Redskins last week. He was expendable for Washington since Brandon Meriweather is back from his two-game suspension. Tight end Ryan Otten was also in the workout, Biggs tweets.
- The Dolphins tried out tight ends Brandon Barden and Konrad Reuland, according to Howard Balzer of USA Today (on Twitter).
Minor Moves: Monday
We’ll keep tabs of today’s minor transactions from around the NFL right here, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Dolphins have signed Marcus Thigpen to their practice squad, writes Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel. Thigpen spent one week on the Patriots’ practice squad beore being cut last week. Thigpen, a former CFL standout, contributed 1,910 kickoff return yards, 580 punt return yards, and scored three touchdowns for the Dolphins in the past two seasons.
- The Redskins will sign center Tevita Stevens to their practice squad tomorrow, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter).
- Steelers linebacker Jarvis Jones, who injured his wrist last night, has been placed on Pittsburgh’s injured reserve list with the designation to return, according to Brian McIntyre (via Twitter). The designation means that Jones will be sidelined for at least the next eight weeks of game action.
- In advance of tonight’s game against the Jets, the Bears have waived wide receiver Josh Bellamy and promoted linebacker Terrell Manning from their practice squad to the 53-man roster, tweets Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
- Linebacker Keith Smith has been cut by the Cowboys, the team officially announced today (via Twitter). For now, the club has an opening on its 53-man roster.
- The Ravens are filling the 10th and final opening on their practice squad by re-adding defensive tackle A.J. Pataiali’i, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- After being cut from the team’s active roster before this weekend’s contest against the Colts, safety Craig Loston has rejoined the Jaguars‘ practice squad, tweets John Oehser of Jaguars.com.
- Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson is set to join the Vikings‘ practice squad, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). When the move becomes official, Minnesota will need to cut or promote someone off the practice squad to clear a spot for Bethel-Thompson.
- The Buccaneers have removed Rashaan Melvin from their injured reserve list with a settlement, says Wilson (via Twitter).
Gerald McCoy, Bucs Move Closer To Extension
The Buccaneers and star defensive lineman Gerald McCoy are making progress towards an extension, writes Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports. While McCoy will certainly demand a highly-lucrative contract, La Canfora points out that the Bucs rid themselves of expensive salaries during the offseason by parting ways with players like Donald Penn and Darrelle Revis, and even if they draft a signal-caller next May, they will not be committing a great deal of money to the quarterback position.
Furthermore, the team will have $30MM of available cap space next season, is projected to have about $58MM of room in 2016, and there are almost no players with hefty signing bonuses. As La Canfora writes, this means “their cap prorations on their best players are manageable and all are essentially on year-to-year deals and easily released without cash or cap ramifications.”
Joel Corry tweets that it would cost over $18MM for Tampa Bay to put the franchise tag on McCoy in 2015, so that is not exactly a tenable solution. Instead, all signs point to the Buccaneers striking a deal with the face of their franchise sometime during the season, which would be a bit of good news for a team desperately in need of some.
I detailed McCoy’s candidacy for an extension back in May, a post that details McCoy’s accomplishments to this point and projects what his next contract might look like.
Josh McCown Could Miss Several Weeks
SATURDAY, 11:25am: Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that McCown has a “significant” sprain and will visit a hand specialist on Monday. As a result, it’s unlikely that the quarterback will play this weekend.
However, in an earlier tweet, Stroud said the team was optimistic that McCown would play against the Steelers, perhaps indicating that the quarterback’s injury is not as severe as initially thought.
FRIDAY, 8:08pm: Buccaneers quarterback Josh McCown injured his thumb in the 56-14 blowout loss to the Falcons Thursday night. Early on, it looked as if the injury was not serious, but Alex Marvez of Fox Sports 1 is reporting that it could force McCown out of the linup for several weeks (via Twitter).
McCown went under a second test that found the injury to be severe enough to sideline the Buccaneers’ free agent signal caller.
Mike Glennon will be slated to start in his place, as he filled in for McCown during the Thursday Night Game.
McCown had been struggling mightily during his two and a half games as a starter in Tampa Bay. He failed to move the offense, and the team remained winless through three games. Even still, head coach Lovie Smith remains committed to him as the starter, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
“Josh is our starter,” Smith said. “We’re looking at one game right now. It would be simple if Josh was the only guy who played bad. It seems like the only guy I’m asked about is Josh. You can ask that about quite a few people starting with me. Am I still the head coach based on that effort? But a little more goes into it than that.”
Now that McCown will miss action, Glennon will have an opportunity to put his stamp on a job that he performed admirably at just last season. As a rookie, Glennon went 4-9 as a starter for a bad Buccaneers team. His touchdown to interception ratio was better than two to one during the 2013 campaign.
NFC Notes: Jordan, Vikings, Buccaneers
Dolphins’ defensive end Dion Jordan has been reinstated and suspended again, due to a separate failed drug test. The team is still supporting Jordan, although there was a report that they shopped the former first-round pick this offseason, in order to gauge his trade value.
One team that inquired as to Jordan’s availability was the Eagles, and Jordan’s former college coach Chip Kelly. The Eagles were interested in acquiring Jordan via trade, and called up the Dolphins’ front office shortly after Dennis Hickey accepted the job of general manager, reports Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
The Dolphins had no interest in trading Jordan at that time, but Salguero wonders if the recent suspensions have created a missed opportunity for Hickey to get out from a bad investment.
Here are some other notes from around the NFC:
- After losing Adrian Peterson to the Commissioner’s exemption list, and releasing Jerome Simpson, the Vikings have two open roster spots to fill, reports Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. The team is considering bringing back fullback Zach Line back to the active roster from the practice squad. The team will most likely not fill that spot in time for their matchup against the Saints this weekend, but will look into it sometime next week.
- After the embarrassing Thursday Night Football loss to the Falcons, which put the Buccaneers at 0-3, Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com examined how the team has constructed its roster over the past few years. The team has spent a lot of money in free agency in recent years, and although a few of those signings have failed to work out, Fitzgerald argues that the timing of their spending sprees were misguided, noting that it is better to draft a young core and add to it. The Buccaneers tried to buy their young core and skip the first step.
- In order to loosen up his team in the days leading up to the week three battle against the Texans, head coach Tom Coughlin is allowing the Giants‘ players to play music during warmups, writes George Willis of the New York Post. The music was suggested by the player’s leadership council.
NFC South Notes: McCoy, Angerer, Hardy
Falcons linebacker Paul Worrilow has missed a combined four tackles in the first two games of the season and while some have been critical of the Delaware product, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan refuses to put all of the blame on him, writes D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Sure there is [room for him to play better]. But we don’t have anybody on defense at this point that is playing at a high level. I think they all would say that they want to play better than they’ve played. Some have played better than others, don’t get me wrong. But I think to a man, they want to play better.” More from the NFC South..
- The season is underway, but the Buccaneers and Gerald McCoy are still discussing a contract extension, according to Jason La Canfora (on Twitter), who says that there’s a healthy dialogue going between the two sides. Buccaneers GM Jason Licht reached out to agent Ben Dogra in late May and, months later, a deal is still in the works. Our own Rory Parks wrote back in May that McCoy can reasonably expect an extension in the five-year, $55-60MM range.
- Free agent linebacker Pat Angerer worked out for the Saints this week, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter). Angerer, a 2010 second-round pick, was cut by the Falcons in late August as a part of their first wave of cuts. Angerer racked up 226 tackles in his first two NFL seasons but has played more sparsely over the last two years, in part due to foot and knee injuries. He also worked out for the Jets recently.
- For Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy to play in 2014, he’ll need his November 17th trial to go forward, writes Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Hardy’s attorney was initially pushing to get the trial delayed until 2015, but he’ll now have to get his legal situation settled before he’s welcomed back on the field.