Tony Hills

Lions OT Tony Hills Retires; Team Signs Nick Becton

Veteran tackle Tony Hills is retiring, the Lions announced. To take his place, the team has signed free agent tackle Nick Becton.

Hills, 33 in the fall, has moved around the league a bunch since being drafted by the Steelers in 2008. This offseason, the Lions signed him in the wake of Taylor Decker‘s shoulder injury. Of course, Hills was never expected to replace Decker’s production and was only being brought on board as a potential reserve.

Becton is expected to fill a similar role for Detroit. The 27-year-old met with Detroit in late March and the team apparently kept his name in mind for an occasion such as this. He has spent time with the the Chargers, Giants, Saints, and Bears, but we haven’t seen him on the field in the regular season since 2015.

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/8/17

Thursday’s minor moves:

  • The Jets have waived wide receiver Quinton Patton with an injury settlement, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The 26-year-old offseason signing went on injured reserve earlier this week with an undisclosed ailment.
  • The Lions have added offensive tackle Tony Hills and waived guard Connor Bozick. Hills will add another body for a team whose starting left tackle, stalwart Taylor Decker, is dealing with a shoulder injury. However, Hills isn’t any kind of replacement for Decker, as he has totaled just 33 appearances and one start since 2010. Bozick didn’t last long in Detroit, where he signed last May as an undrafted free agent from Delaware.
  • The Dolphins have agreed to a contract with wide receiver Mitch Mathews, sources tell Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Mathews went undrafted out of BYU in 2016. In his collegiate career, he caught 152 passes for 2,083 yards and 24 touchdowns.
  • The Seahawks have signed tight end Steve Donatell and cut fellow TE Bryce Williams. Donatell, the brother of Seahawks quality control coach Tom Donatell, signed as an undrafted free agent from Wake Forest. Williams went undrafted last year out of East Carolina and spent some time with the Patriots and Rams.
  • The Chargers have signed cornerback Ryan Reid, an undrafted free agent from Baylor.

Saints Move Roster To 53

The Saints have now announced their full list of transactions that bring them down to 53 players.

Cut:

Placed on IR:

Barnes signed with the Saints last Sunday, meaning his stay in New Orleans lasted less than a week. In 11 NFL seasons, the 34-year-old has seen action in more than 150 games (117 starts) with the Jaguars and Raiders. Barnes lost his starting job in Oakland last season, but still appeared in 14 games.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/1/16

Today’s minor moves:

  • In addition to their transactions below, the Browns have also waived/injured defensive lineman Dylan Wynn, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). Wynn will revert to Cleveland’s injured reserve list if and when he clears waivers.
  • Similarly, wide receiver Tyler Slavin has cleared waivers and is now on the Seahawks‘ injured reserve list, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.

Earlier updates:

  • The Titans have claimed cornerback Tyler Patmon, off waivers from the Dolphins, as Jim Wyatt of Titans Online tweets.
  • The Browns announced that they have signed linebacker Jason Neill and offensive lineman Cory Tucker. To make room, offensive lineman Conor Boffeli and linebacker Jackson Jeffcoat were waived.
  • The Lions have signed former University of Miami linebacker Raphael Kirby to a three-year deal, according to his reps at Universal Sports Management (Twitter link). Kirby, who was the Hurricanes’ team captain, is said to finally be healthy after suffering a torn ACL in college. To make room, linebacker Dominique Tovell has been waived, per a team announcement.
  • The Saints announced that they have re-signed tackle Tony Hills and waived/injured UDFA tackle Ryker Mathews.
  • Colts safety Andrew Williamson was waived/injured thanks to his knee issue, Mike Chappell of the Indy Star tweets.
  • The Steelers added running back Christian Powell and free agent center Valerian Ume-Ezeoke, Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets. To make room, running back Brandon Johnson and center Quinton Schooley were cut.
  • The Vikings signed linebacker Terrance Plummer, as Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press tweets.
  • The Bills released kicker Marshall Morgan and wide receiver Davonte Allen, as Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News tweets. The team also added wide receiver Kain Colter.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/6/15

Today’s minor signings, cuts, and other moves..

  • The Panthers signed defensive end Wes Horton just days after cutting him, as Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer tweets. To make room, offensive tackle offensive tackle David Foucault has been waived. If Foucault clears waivers, he will be signed to the practice squad, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • The Rams have re-signed linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar to the roster, Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch tweets.
  • The Bears have promoted tackle Nick Becton from the taxi squad to the 53-man roster, as Evan Woodbery of The Times-Picayune tweets.
  • The Buccaneers announced that they have promoted defensive end Howard Jones to the active roster from the practice squad.
  • Also, Buccaneers defensive end T.J. Fatinikun has been placed on IR after suffering a knee injury in the second half of Sunday’s game against Carolina. He had just returned from a shoulder injury to appear in the Bucs’ last two games, recording one tackle and two stops on special teams. Last year, his first in the NFL, Fatinikun played in ten Buccaneer games and had eight tackles and a half-sack.
  • The Saints signed veteran tackle Tony Hills, as Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/21/15

Here are today’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL..

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

  • Signed: RB Paul Lasike (Twitter link via Brad Biggs)
  • Cut: RB Bronson Hill

Philadelphia Eagles

San Diego Chargers

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/16/15

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed: T Tony Hills (via Aaron Wilson on Twitter)
  • Cut: QB Bryn Renner

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

  • To be signed: T Joe Treadwell (via Wilson on Twitter)

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Oakland Raiders

  • Signed: WR DeAndre Carter (via Vic Tafur on Twitter)
  • Cut: LB Josh Shirley

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: TE Connor Hamlett (via press release)
  • Cut: DE Brian Mihalik

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/28/15

Today’s minor moves and signings..

  • The Bills cut Deon Broomfield from injured reserve, Wilson tweets.
  • The Browns announced that they have signed offensive lineman Erle Ladson while waiving defensive back Micah Pellerin, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal tweets.
  • The Panthers waived running back Darrin Reaves, who saw a good amount of playing time last season as the Panthers had issues with their backfield, ESPN.com’s David Newton writes. Meanwhile, Carolina inked tackles Tony Hills and Davonte Wallace.

Earlier Updates:

  • Bengals wide receiver James Wright has been released with a waived/injured designation, according to Coley Harvey of ESPN.com (on Twitter). If he isn’t claimed tomorrow, he’ll be placed on the Bengals’ IR for the season.
  • The Cowboys released running back Ryan Williams, linebacker Cameron Lawrence, and offensive lineman Ryan Miller while signing running back Gus Johnson, offensive lineman Ronald Patrick, and linebacker Justin Anderson, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets.
  • The Cardinals placed wide receiver Damond Powell on the reserve/NFI list, Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com tweets. The move creates a place for tight end Jermaine Gresham on the 90-man roster.
  • The Jets announced that they have released kicker Andrew Furney. That move will create room for the addition of wide receiver Austin Hill, who was picked up yesterday. Furney was signed by the Jets last offseason as an undrafted free agent out of Washington State to compete with Nick Folk during the ’14 training camp. He signed a reserve/future contract to return to the Jets last Dec. 30.
  • The Bears signed defensive lineman David Carter to a one-year deal, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Tribune tweets. To make room, linebacker Jonathan Brown has been waived.

Cowboys To Sign Tony Hills

The Cowboys are releasing defensive end Lavar Edwards to make room for new offensive tackle Tony Hills, according to Charean Williams of the Star-Telegram (on Twitter).

Hills, 29, has appeared in ten NFL games dating back to 2010. He hooked on with the Dolphins’ taxi squad in September after he failed to make the final roster cut. Now, he’ll get an opportunity to stick on a 53-man roster.

Edwards was waived by Dallas in September to make room for linebacker Keith Smith but was promptly re-signed three days later when Smith was cut. The 6’4″, 277 pound defensive end spent last season with the Titans where he appeared in seven games with one start.