Tavon Rooks

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/19/16

Here are Friday’s minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL, plus a pair of notable moves from the CFL wire:

  • CFL pass rusher Tristan Okpalaugo has signed with the Cardinals, according to his agent Brett Kessler (Twitter link). Okpalaugo, who recorded 23 sacks during the past two seasons with the Toronto Argonauts, also received an offer from the Jets and visited Seahawks before choosing Arizona.
  • In addition to confirming their previously-reported deal with wide receiver A.J. Cruz, the Dolphins announced today (via Twitter) that they’ve signed cornerback Chimdi Chekwa to a contract. Chekwa, who appeared in 32 games for the Raiders from 2011 to 2014, was cut from the club’s injured reserve list last September, and didn’t see any regular-season action in 2015.
  • Offensive tackle Tavon Rooks, who suffered a heart attack last September in practice, was officially waived today by the Chiefs, tweets Evan Woodbery of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle adds (via Twitter) that Rooks received the non-football illness designation.
  • The CFL’s Edminton Eskimos announced today in a press release that they’ve signed former NFL players Jacoby Ford (WR) and Joe McKnight (RB). Ford, a former fourth-round pick, caught 57 balls and had four kickoff return TDs for the Raiders between 2010 and 2013, while McKnight compiled 746 yards from scrimmage in 41 total games with the Jets and Chiefs from 2010 to 2014.

Chiefs Waive Junior Hemingway, Tavon Rooks

The Chiefs have waived Junior Hemingway and Tavon Rooks as a part of their effort to get down to a 75-man roster, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets. KC also placed Justin March on IR and Tyler Bray on the NFI list.

Hemingway, a wide receiver, was selected by the Chiefs in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Over the last two seasons, he has hauled in a combined 25 catches for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Rooks, a sixth-round pick in the 2012 draft, offers great size for the tackle position at 6’5″, 280 pounds.

Minor Moves: Monday

Today’s minor moves..

  • The Chiefs signed offensive lineman Tavon Rooks, agent Richard Kopelman tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
  • The 49ers signed center/guard Ben Gottschalk to a two-year deal while signing kicker Corey Acosta and wide receiver Mario Hull to three year deals, Wilson tweets. To help make room, Darius Davis has been waived (link).
  • The Chargers have signed undrafted rookie offensive tackle Forrestal Hickman, according to a league source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Hickman, who stands at 6’8″ and 315 pounds, tried out for the Chargers during their rookie minicamp. The Missouri Science and Tech product was an all-conference selection last season.
  • The 49ers released tackle/guard Chris Martin, according to agent Brett Tessler (on Twitter). Martin finished last season on San Francisco’s practice squad, but the agent says that the team simply had too many similar guys already on the roster.
  • The Jets announced that they have waived/injured tight end Zach Sudfeld, who suffered a torn ACL, as Brian Costello of the New York Post tweets. In his stead, the Jets have inked tight end Steve Maneri.
  • The Seahawks waived/injured defensive end Ryan Robinson, according to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times (on Twitter). Condotta assumes that the Seahawks are hoping that he’ll pass through waivers, allowing them to stash him on IR.
  • The Packers have waived rookie guard Marcus Reed, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Reed was signed as a UDFA last month. Green Bay currently has 89 players on the roster.
  • The Seahawks signed wide receiver Kasen Williams, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (on Twitter).

Minor Moves: Friday

Here are Friday’s minor transactions from around the NFL:

  • The Browns have cut outside linebacker Keith Pough, tweets Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. Pough had been cut with an injured designation last month, so today’s move removes him from the roster entirely.
  • Having signed him to their roster in April, the Giants have waived/injured linebacker Ryan Jones less than two months later, per Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
  • After being waived with an injury designation by the Raiders yesterday, linebacker Jacoby Hale has reverted to the team’s IR list, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.

Earlier updates:

  • Offensive lineman Jon Halapio, drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round in 2014, has signed with the Cardinals, per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (Twitter link). To make room for the guard, the Cards parted ways with another offensive lineman, tackle Tavon Rooks.
  • As expected, sixth-round wide receiver Bud Sasser, who wasn’t cleared physically due to a heart condition, went unclaimed on waivers and has been placed on the Rams‘ non-football illness list, tweets Howard Balzer of TheSportsXchange. For what it’s worth, Sasser’s agent, Scott Thiel, tells David Morrison of the Columbia Daily Tribune that doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota said the young wideout is “at little to no risk,” and should be able to play football. For now though, he’ll remain on St. Louis’ NFI list.
  • The Cowboys have waived former Fresno State linebacker Kyle Knox, just a few days after signing him, tweets Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. According to Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link), the club will add another linebacker to its roster next week.
  • The Dolphins have waived linebacker Jake Knott, the team announced today (via Twitter). The 24-year-old, who played his college ball at Iowa State, has had stints with the Eagles and Dolphins over the last couple seasons.

Cards Sign 10 Players To Futures Contracts

Following their first round playoff loss to the Panthers, the Cardinals are moving forward by locking up several players for 2015. The team announced today that it has signed 10 players to futures contracts, including nine members of their practice squad. The new additions are as follows:

  1. Zach Bauman, RB
  2. Ted Bolser, TE
  3. John Fullington, G
  4. Travis Harvey, WR
  5. Jimmy Legree, CB
  6. Kelvin Palmer, T
  7. Tavon Rooks, T
  8. Ryan Spadola, WR
  9. Ross Weaver, CB
  10. Darren Woodard, CB

Bolser confirmed today (via Twitter) that he rejoined the Cardinals’ practice squad at season’s end before inking his futures deal, which makes Rooks the only player on the list that didn’t finish the season on the team’s taxi squad. Arizona also signed three other players – tackle Cameron Bradfield, guard Antoine McClain, and cornerback Roc Carmichael – to reserve contracts last week.

Sunday Transactions: NFC South

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC South teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s NFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Atlanta Falcons:

Carolina Panthers:

New Orleans Saints:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

Saints Cut Shayne Graham, Others

5:30pm: The Saints have been busy this afternoon, notably letting go of veterans Champ Bailey and Robert Meachem. The team officially announced their moves via a press release, and the team’s transactions that were not previously reported are below:

Waived:

  • Matt Armstrong, C
  • Todd Davis, ILB
  • Derek Dimke, K
  • Nic Jacobs, TE
  • Tavon Rooks, OT
  • Pierre Warren, S

Released:

2:00pm: The Saints began the process of cutting their roster down to 53 players yesterday when they released fullback Greg Jones, and the team has made plenty more moves today. Here’s the list of players no longer on New Orleans’ active roster:

Draft Signings: Vikings, Giants, Packers, Pats

We’re continuing to track which draft picks have signed their rookie contracts with their new NFL clubs. Here are the latest transactions:

  • The Vikings have officially confirmed the signings of three draft picks, announcing the moves in a press release. While we’d already heard that the club locked up offensive lineman David Yankey, we can add cornerbacks Kendall James and Jabari Price, the 184th and 225th overall picks, to the list of Minnesota draftees who have signed.
  • Two Giants draft picks have officially signed with the club, according to a team release. Fourth-round running back Andre Williams and fifth-round safety Nat Berhe have inked their rookie deals, which should put them in line for respective signing bonuses of about $454K and $193K, per Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap.
  • The Packers have agreed to terms with sixth-round cornerback Demetri Goodson, tweets ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan. Green Bay has now secured its final five draftees, though it still needs to sign the first four, including first-rounder Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
  • Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun passes along a pair of signings, via Twitter: The Patriots have agreed to terms with fourth-round offensive tackle Cameron Fleming on a four-year, $2.52MM deal (Twitter link), while the Saints and sixth-round tackle Tavon Rooks reached an agreement on a four-year, $2.317MM pact (Twitter link).