Bucs Re-Sign Larry English, Cut Steven Means
The Buccaneers have done a little Tuesday roster shuffling, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com, who tweets that the team has re-signed defensive end Larry English, waiving defensive end Steven Means to open up a roster spot. According to Smith (via Twitter), the club also filled one of the two openings on its practice squad by adding cornerback C.J. Wilson.
English, a former first-rounder who was drafted with the 16th overall pick in 2009, appeared in 52 games for the Chargers during his five years with the team, struggling with injuries in recent years and never establishing himself as a consistent performer. He started five of nine games for San Diego in 2013, recording 2.5 sacks, before a pectoral injury sidelined him for the season. After signing with Tampa Bay in mid-August, English was cut just a couple weeks later as the club reduced its roster to 53 players.
A fifth-round pick in 2013, Means played a limited role for the Bucs in his rookie season, and saw the field for just four defensive snaps during the team’s Week 1 lost to Carolina, despite receiving some offseason praise from new head coach Lovie Smith. Since Means received a signing bonus of only about $192K on his rookie contract, Tampa Bay will carry a small amount of dead money on its cap this year and next, after cutting him.
NFC Notes: Cowboys, Mathis, Bucs, Vikings
Jerry Jones and the Cowboys won’t face tampering charges resulting from Jones’ June conversation with Adrian Peterson, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN. Late last month, Don Van Natta of ESPN.com reported that Jones and Peterson had spoken over the phone, and the Vikings running back expressed interest in playing for Dallas. As our Luke Adams noted at the time, if a team is contacted by a player who is under contract with another club, that team must immediately report the contact to the club which holds the player’s rights. Sources tell Mortensen that Jones asked the Cowboys’ legal team to call the Vikings after the story came out, and Minnesota agreed not to file any charges. More from the NFC:
- An injury forced Evan Mathis from today’s game against the Jaguars, but early indications are that the Eagles guard didn’t tear his ACL, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Losing Mathis, who will have an MRI tomorrow, would be devastating for the Eagles — Pro Football Focus (subscription required) rated him as the best guard in the league last season.
- Buccaneers offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford will join the team for today’s game after revealing that he recently underwent a coronary angioplasty. “I had a couple stents,” Tedford told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times. “…It’s nice just to be up and around. We’ll see how much I can do next week and kind of ease back into it.” Quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo will call plays for the Bucs for the time being.
- Christian Ponder was inactive as the Vikings No. 3 quarterback against the Rams today, and Jason La Canfora wonders (via Twitter) if a trade for the 2011 first-rounder makes sense for a QB-needy team.
- The 49ers will use Lawrence Okoye, currently a member of San Francisco’s practice squad, at both defensive end and offensive tackle, tweets Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, who notes that long-limbed Okoye might fit better along an offensive line than on a defensive front.
- In a piece for the National Football Post, Joel Corry looks some key questions heading into the 2014 season, including whether the 49ers can overcome absences from contributors like Aldon Smith, NaVorro Bowman, and Glenn Dorsey.
Minor Moves: Saturday
As most of the team’s prepare for their season-debut tomorrow, some minor moves are likely to be made. We’ll keep track of the day’s transactions right here, with the most recent moves being added to the top:
- Defensive lineman Garrison Smith has been dropped from the Dolphins‘ practice squad in order to make room for the previously-reported addition of Brandian Ross, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
- Wilson also clarifies (via Twitter) that Quinton Pointer‘s release from the Buccaneers, which is noted below, was an injury waiver.
Earlier updates:
- The Buccaneers are expected to add receiver Solomon Patton to the 53-man roster, reports Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (via Twitter). The team released cornerback Quinton Pointer and former University of Florida receiver Louis Murphy to make room for Patton and Dixon.
- The Seahawks have waived wide receiver Phil Bates, reports Terry Blount of ESPN (via Twitter). Blount believes this will open room on the roster for a cornerback.
- The Chargers have waived Vincent Brown after reaching an injury settlement, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Twitter). Brown will be eligible to be claimed on Monday at 4 P.M. ET.
- The Dolphins have re-signed safety Brandian Ross to their practice squad, reports Caplan (via Twitter).
- The Eagles have released receiver Arrelious Benn from IR with an injury settlement, reports Caplan (via Twitter).
- The Ravens have promoted running back Fitz Toussaint from the practice squad to the active roster, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. Toussaint will replace the recently released Derek Cox.
- The Patriots have added defensive lineman Kelcy Quarles to their practice squad, according to the team’s official website. They released tight end Allen Reisner to make room.
- Buccaneers cornerback Brandon Dixon, a sixth-round pick by the Jets this past year, will be activated from the practice squad, tweets CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora.
- The Bengals have waived defensive end Christo Bilukidi, reports ESPN.com’s Coley Harvey (via Twitter). The team signed cornerback Onterio McCalebb off the practice squad.
- Brandon Barden, a tight end who previously spent time with the Titans, was removed from the Jaguars injured reserve with an injury settlement, reports Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- Cornerback Damond Smith was removed from the Chiefs injured reserve with an injury settlement, tweets Wilson.
- Panthers tight end D.C. Jefferson was placed on the team’s reserve/suspended list, tweets Wilson. Jefferson was previously on the team’s injured reserve list.
Buccaneers Release Louis Murphy
The Buccaneers have released wide receiver Louis Murphy, reports Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Twitter). The former University of Florida star was signed by the team earlier this offseason.
Murphy was a fourth-round pick of Oakland Raiders, where he had some success as a pass catcher. Murphy possessed top end speed coming out of college, but could never be a consistent contributor on an offense.
He also spent some time with the Giants and Panthers, before joining the Buccaneers in March.
11 PS Players Earning More Than The Minimum
Players on NFL practice squads are eligible to receive a minimum salary of $6,300 per week, which works out to a 17-week salary of about $107K if a player remains on his team’s practice squad for the entire season. In most cases, teams don’t pay more than the minimum to fill those practice squad spots, since clubs have much more leverage than the players vying for those 320 total openings.
In some cases though, if a team really likes a player, or if he’s drawing interest from several teams for their practice squads, a club will increase that weekly rate. So far this year, with all 32 teams having filled up their 10-man squads, at least 11 players are known to be receiving salaries worth more than the minimum. NFL writer Brian McIntyre rounded up all those players and their salaries for us in a series of tweets, so let’s check out the full list, sorted by weekly salary:
- Brandon Magee, LB (Buccaneers): $29,117 (link)
- Josh Bynes, LB (Ravens): $15,000 (link)
- Rodney Austin, G (Lions): $11,765 (link)
- Zac Dysert, QB (Broncos): $10,000 (link)
- Charles Johnson, WR (Browns): $10,000 (link)
- John Simon, OLB (Ravens): $10,000 (link)
- Ahmad Dixon, S (Vikings): $9,300 (link)
- Brandon Dixon, CB (Buccaneers): $7,500 (link)
- Solomon Patton, WR (Buccaneers): $7,500 (link)
- Jamell Fleming, CB (Ravens): $6,500 (link)
- Ryan Jensen, C (Ravens): $6,500 (link)
Magee’s practice-squad salary is the most notable on this list — his weekly figure adds up to just below $495K for the full season, which is the minimum salary for a second-year player on an active roster. In other words, if he spends the entire season on the practice squad, Magee could still earn more money than some players on active rosters, which is a sign of how much the Bucs want to keep him around.
South Notes: Titans, Watt, Jags, Bucs
Let’s round up a few Wednesday items from out of the NFL’s two South divisions….
- The Titans appear to be eyeing secondary help. In addition to hosting Crezdon Butler for a tryout, as we heard yesterday, the team also auditioned veteran defensive backs Dominique Franks, Julian Posey, R.J. Stanford, and Terrell Thomas, per Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). In a separate tweet, Wilson adds that Tennessee had interest in signing cornerback Derek Cox before he returned to the Ravens.
- Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com (Twitter link) provides the details on the contract that kicker Ryan Succop signed with the Titans. According to Kuharsky, it’s a minimum-salary pact with a $15K roster bonus.
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap provides a full year-by-year breakdown of what J.J. Watt‘s new contract extension with the Texans should look like, based on a report from John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.
- After auditioning for the Dolphins yesterday, tight end David Paulson has a tryout scheduled with the Jaguars for next Tuesday, tweets Wilson.
- Wide receivers Joe Anderson and Chris Williams, along with defensive backs Jordan Mabin and C.J. Wilson, worked out for the Buccaneers, according to Wilson (via Twitter).
Buccaneers Re-Sign Major Wright
The Buccaneers have officially placed rookie running back Charles Sims on the injured reserve with the designation to return, clearing a roster spot to re-sign veteran safety Major Wright, according to Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (via Twitter). Wright was among Tampa Bay’s final cuts when the team reduced its roster from 75 players to 53.
As the Bears’ full-time starter at strong safety last season, Wright grabbed a pair of interceptions, and racked up more than 100 tackles, but earned the dubious honor of ranking dead-last out of 86 qualified safeties, according to Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required). According to PFF’s data, quarterbacks completed 77.8% of their passes when throwing at Wright’s coverage, with a QB rating of 146.8.
Still, 2013 may have been an aberration for the former third-round pick. In Chicago under Lovie Smith, who is now the Bucs’ head coach, Wright’s PFF grades looked significantly better in 2011 and 2012, and at age 26, there’s still room for growth.
Minor Moves: Tuesday
Here are the latest minor transactions from around the NFL:
5:17pm:
- The Browns have cut offensive lineman Caylin Hauptmann with a failed physical designation, according to Brian McIntyre (via Twitter). That clears a roster spot for Vinston Painter, whose signing was noted below.
- The following players have been removed from their teams’ respective IR lists with injury settlements, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (all Twitter links): Ryan McKee (Chiefs), Larry Asante (Raiders), Greg Jenkins (Raiders), and Eric Ward (Titans). C.J. Davis (Seahawks) has also been removed from IR with a settlement, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.
4:44pm:
- The Jets have signed linebacker Jeremiah George and wideout Quincy Enunwa to their practice squad, the team announced today (via Twitter). New York selected the duo in the fifth and sixth rounds of this year’s draft, respectively.
4:13pm:
- The Panthers have signed former Jets wideout Stephen Hill to their practice squad, cutting linebacker D.J. Smith, the team announced today (Twitter link). According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Redskins will also interested in bringing Hill in for a workout, but Carolina offered him a deal.
- The Cardinals have added wideout Kevin Cone, defensive tackle Christian Tupou, and running back Dominique Williams to their practice squad, per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter).
- Tight end Jerome Cunningham has signed with the Giants‘ practice squad, according to agent Howard Shatsky (via Twitter).
- The Chargers filled their practice squad by adding running back Marion Grice, who cleared waivers after being cut yesterday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
- The Cowboys have also filled their 10-man squad, adding offensive lineman John Wetzel and defensive back Jemea Thomas, according to Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (via Twitter). Presumably, one of the 10 players on the unit will be cut tomorrow if the team intends to bring Michael Sam aboard.
- A.J. Jefferson of the Seahawks and Justice Cunningham of the Rams have both been removed from injured reserve lists with settlements, according to Caplan and Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter links).
3:28pm:
- According to Mike Klis of the Denver Post (via Twitter), the Browns are signing offensive lineman Vinston Painter off the Broncos‘ practice squad, which will open up a spot on the 10-man unit for long snapper Kevin McDermott, whose signing was noted below. Cleveland will need to make a corresponding roster move to clear room for Painter.
- The Redskins made a series of changes to their practice squad today, signing offensive lineman Braxston Cave and linebacker Jackson Jeffcoat. Linebacker Chaz Sutton and offensive lineman Tevita Stevens were cut.
- Offensive lineman Matt Patchan has been removed from the Buccaneers‘ injured reserve list with a settlement, says Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune (via Twitter).
1:23pm:
- A number of teams have filled their 10-man practice squads by adding a player. The Jaguars signed tight end Marcel Jensen, per John Oehser of Jaguars.com (via Twitter); the Bills signed tight end D.J. Tialavea, tweets Mike Rodak of ESPN.com; the Bengals signed wide receiver Cobi Hamilton, according to Coley Harvey of ESPN.com (via Twitter); and the Browns officially announced the signing of fullback Kiero Small, which had been previously reported by Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- A pair of clubs also swapped in one player for another on their practice squads. The Dolphins signed defensive end Gerald Rivers and dropped defensive end D’Aundre Reed, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). And the Vikings signed offensive lineman Austin Wentworth to their squad to replace cornerback Kendall James, the team announced (via Twitter).
- The Broncos are also making an addition to their practice squad, in long snapper Kevin McDermott, according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post (via Twitter). But Denver already had a full 10-man unit, so we’ll have to wait to hear about the corresponding move.
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap and Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link) provide the respective details for Ray McDonald‘s contract restructure with the 49ers and Glover Quin‘s reworked deal with the Lions.
- The Buccaneers intend to open up a roster spot by placing running back Charles Sims on their injured reserve list with the designation to return, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Teams can begin to use that IR spot as of 3:00pm central time today.
- Cornerback Bobby Felder has been removed from the Bills‘ injured reserve list after reaching a settlement with the team, tweets Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550.
Minor Moves: Monday
We’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions here, with any updates being added to the top of the post:
- After cutting one linebacker earlier today, the Jets have signed another, adding A.J. Edds, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). Edds, 26, was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 draft by the Patriots. To clear a roster spot, New York released cornerback Ellis Lankster.
Earlier Updates:
- The Seahawks have swapped out a pair of receivers by signing Bryan Walters while waiving Phil Bates, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). Walters, 26, had been waived Saturday as Seattle trimmed their roster to 53, but he’s now back with the team.
- The Cowboys officially announced the signing of linebacker Korey Toomer, and in order to clear a roster spot, waived safety Jemea Thomas, tweets Brian McIntyre. Dallas claimed Thomas, a 2014 sixth-round pick, off waivers from New England just five days ago.
- Receiver Kyle Williams was released from the Chiefs’ injured reserve list with an injury settlement, according to Adam Teicher of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Williams, whose most notable playing time came with the 49ers, suffered a shoulder injury in Kansas City’s final preseason game.
- The Jets claimed receiver Walter Powell off waivers from the Cardinals, tweets Symmetry Reps, his agency. To make room for Powell, the Jets cut Jeremiah George, per Brian Costello of the New York Post (on Twitter).
- The Patriots were awarded safety Don Jones off waivers from the Dolphins, reports Field Yates of ESPN (Twitter link). Jones was in the news during the offseason after making inflammatory comments about Michael Sam. New England waived guard Chris Barker to clear a roster spot.
- The Raiders have placed linebacker Kaelin Burnett on injured reserve, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN; the 24-year-old Nevada product had been dealing with a knee injury.
- The following players were released from their teams’ respective IR lists with injury settlements, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (series of Twitter links): offensive tackle Matt Patchan (Buccaneers); cornerback Justin Green, defensive tackle Zach Minter, and defensive back Johnny Thomas (Cowboys); linebacker Tim Fugger (Jets); defensive tackle Michael Brooks and linebacker Horace Miller (Seahawks).
Practice Squad Updates: Monday
We rounded up the first wave of practice squad additions in a series of posts by division yesterday, which you can check out on our Transactions page. Several more teams have announced new practice squad players today, or made slight changes to their units, so we’ll round up that news right here:
6:33pm:
- The 49ers have filled out their practice squad by adding cornerback Chance Casey and running back Kendall Gaskins, the team announced in a press release.
4:37pm:
- The Browns have added wide receiver Charles Johnson and offensive lineman Karim Barton to their practice squad, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Twitter).
- Cornerback Khalid Wooten will be the 10th man on the Titans‘ practice squad, tweets Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.
4:07pm:
- The Seahawks have added defensive end Julius Warmsley and defensive back Josh Aubrey to their practice squad, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.
- The Redskins have finalized their practice squad by adding safety Akeem Davis and linebacker Chaz Sutton, the club announced today (Twitter link).
- Cornerback LeQuan Lewis has been added to the Jets‘ practice squad, according to the team (via Twitter).
2:46pm:
- The Rams have finalized their practice squad by adding linebacker Denicos Allen, wideout Emory Blake, safety Christian Bryant, and quarterback Garrett Gilbert, per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). That means Michael Sam isn’t among the 10 players on St. Louis’ squad.
- The addition of Henry Josey to the Jaguars‘ practice squad has officially been announced by the team in a press release. We had noted below that although his signing had been previously reported, Josey wasn’t among the first list of names released by the club.
- The Ravens have announced the signing of offensive lineman Marcel Jones to their practice squad, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
1:31pm:
- The following players are now on the Browns‘ practice squad: James Brown, OL; Jacobbi McDaniel, DL; Emmanuel Ogbuehi, TE; Keith Pough, LB; Justin Staples, LB; and Patrick Lewis, C. The first five names are listed on the team’s official site, while the addition of Lewis was reported by Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- Alex Gillett‘s time on the Packers‘ practice squad didn’t last long — he was replaced today by cornerback Jumal Rolle, tweets Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
- The Buccaneers have signed safety Kimario McFadden, cornerback Derrius Brooks, and linebacker Carlos Fields to their practice squad, according to the team’s official site.
- Katherine Terrell of the New Orleans Times-Picayune provides the last few names to be added to the Saints‘ practice squad: safety Pierre Warren, guard Antoine McClain, nose tackle Lawrence Virgil, and tight end Nic Jacobs.
- The Eagles have signed quarterback G.J. Kinne for their practice squad, per the team’s official site.
- Fullback Nikita Whitlock is the latest addition to the Cowboys‘ practice squad, the team announced today.
- The Vikings filled the final spot on their practice squad by adding cornerback Chris Greenwood, says Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- Defensive end Zach Thompson is now on the Broncos‘ practice squad, according to the club.
- The Chiefs filled the final opening on their practice squad by signing defensive tackle Hebron Fangupo, reports Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter).
- Wide receiver Freddie Martino and tight end Kyle Miller have joined the Falcons‘ practice squad, per the team’s official site.
- One more housekeeping note: Yesterday, running back Henry Josey and fullback Kiero Small were reported as having joined the Jaguars‘ and Browns‘ practice squads, respectively. However, when those teams announced their PS rosters, those players weren’t included. There haven’t been any reports indicating those agreements fell through, so we’ll keep an eye on both situations. For now though, we won’t be including those players in our master list of practice squad rosters, which will be published this afternoon.