Minor NFL Transactions: 8/7/19
Today’s minor moves:
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: OL Kiwanis Bushell-Beatty
- Waived/injured: WR Lance Lenoir
Houston Texans
- Signed: QB Jordan Ta’amu
- Waived: C D.J. Coker
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: Aca’Cedric Ware
- Placed on injured reserve: WR Steve Ishmael
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: S John Battle, DT Stevie Tu’ikolovatu
- Waived/injured: OL Mike Liedtke (story)
- Waived: QB Vincent Testaverde
Saints To Sign TE A.J. Derby
The Saints are expected to sign free agent tight end A.J. Derby, according to Herbie Teope of The Advocate (Twitter link). Offensive lineman Nate Wozniak will be waived in a corresponding move.
New Orleans currently has six tight ends on its roster, but two of them — Garrett Griffin and Alize Mack — are dealing with injuries, so the club is aiming to add a bit more depth by bringing Derby onto the roster. Veteran Jared Cook, who inked a two-year, $15MM contract with the Saints during the offseason, will be the team’s starter, but Josh Hill should still see a relatively large role after playing on more than 60% of New Orleans’ offensive snaps in 2018.
Derby, 27, has bounced around the NFL since entering the league as a Patriots sixth-round pick in 2015. The Arkansas product’s most significant action came in 2017, when he racked up 21 catches on 40 targets while splitting time between the Broncos and Dolphins. Last season, Derby appeared in four games and managed three receptions for Miami before being placed on injured reserve in December.
Packers Waive OL Jason Spriggs
The Packers’ second-round investment in Jason Spriggs has not ended up producing much value, and the team may be set to conclude the offensive lineman’s run in Green Bay.
In submitting a successful waiver claim for running back Keith Ford, the Packers waived Spriggs with an injury designation, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Colts waived Ford on Monday to make room for D’Onta Foreman.
Envisioning a future starting role for the Indiana product, the Packers traded up to land Spriggs at No. 48 in the 2016 draft. He has not been able to crack Green Bay’s starting lineup with consistency, working as a first-stringer in only nine games. Spriggs has been dealing with a trap muscle injury during camp, and given that Spriggs’ contract is up after 2019, this situation will likely be headed toward an injury settlement.
Spriggs suited up as primarily a backup in 29 combined games between the 2016 and ’18 seasons, but in 2017, the Packers placed him on IR twice. He joined Aaron Rodgers in being one of the team’s late-season IR-boomerang players but, like Rodgers, also ended that season back on IR.
The Bills made Ford, a Texas A&M alum, one of their top UDFAs in 2018 but waived him after last year’s preseason run. He caught on with the Colts this offseason. Ford will join a Green Bay backfield housing Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams and sixth-round rookie Dexter Williams, along with some fellow UDFAs.
Lions, OL Joe Dahl Agree To Extension
Lions offensive lineman Joe Dahl is no longer entering a contract year. The Lions took care of their former fifth-round pick on Tuesday, agreeing to a two-year extension, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Dahl is expected to once again play a reserve role in Detroit, though he is competing for the Lions’ starting left guard spot. He is now signed through the 2021 season.
The Lions selected the Washington State product on Day 3 of the 2016 draft, and although he arrived during the Jim Caldwell regime’s run, Dahl has made an impression on Matt Patricia‘s staff. He has started four games in his three-season career.
This season’s Lions line is expected to look a lot like 2018’s, with last year’s starting five — Taylor Decker, Kenny Wiggins, Frank Ragnow, Graham Glasgow and Ricky Wagner — all still under contract. Dahl stands to be perhaps Detroit’s top interior backup, if he cannot beat out the 30-year-old Wiggins for a starting gig.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/5/19
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
New York Giants
- Signed: OL Malcolm Bunche
- Waived: OG Austin Droogsma
New York Jets
- Claimed off waivers from Eagles: CB Alex Brown
- Waived: WR Quadree Henderson
Cowboys Sign S Tyvis Powell
Tyvis Powell has found another gig. Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com writes that the safety will be signing with the Cowboys. The team opened up a roster spot earlier today after waiving tight end Rico Gathers.
It’s been a busy few weeks for Powell, a 2016 undrafted free agent out of Ohio State. The 25-year-old signed with the Texans in late July, but he was cut by the organization this past weekend. The 25-year-old has appeared in 18 career games, including seven this past season with the 49ers. He finished 2018 with six tackles and one forced fumble.
The defensive back has bounced between five different teams (including separate stints with the 49ers) over his three years in the league. Fortunately, he has some familiarity with some in the Cowboys organization; he was a teammate of Ezekiel Elliott back in college, and he played under defensive passing game coordinator Kris Richard in Seattle.
Powell wasn’t the only player to audition for the Cowboys today. According to Calvin Watkins of the Dallas News (via Twitter), the team also worked out offensive tackle Brian Wallace and cornerback Channing Stribling.
Cowboys Waive TE Rico Gathers
The Cowboys are ending their Rico Gathers experiment. The team made the decision to waive the former Baylor basketball player-turned-tight end on Monday.
Gathers received a one-game suspension earlier this offseason. Although Gathers saw action in just 15 games in one season (2018), the 25-year-old spent four offseasons with the Cowboys. Dallas drafted Gathers in the 2016 sixth round and attempted to develop him. Gathers finished last season with three receptions for 45 yards.
An ankle injury limited Gathers during his fourth Cowboys camp, and the Dallas tight end situation obviously changed in recent months. Jason Witten is now back on the team; Gathers did not see any game action during Witten’s previous run with the team.
Younger tight ends Blake Jarwin and Dalton Schultz are expected to make the Cowboys’ 53-man roster, leaving Gathers without a surefire role. Prior to the Cowboys investing a sixth-round pick in the college hoops standout, Gathers had not played organized football since middle school.
Cardinals To Sign Michael Crabtree
The Cardinals will add another veteran to their receiving corps. Michael Crabtree intends to sign with the team, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports (on Twitter). This comes after Crabtree worked out for the Cardinals on Monday.
Other than Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals have one of the youngest receiving groups in the NFL. They employ second-year man Christian Kirk and three draft choices as key components of Kliff Kingsbury‘s first aerial group. The team guided by the former Texas Tech coach will add a former Texas Tech star. Although Kingsbury and Crabtree’s Lubbock, Texas, tenures did not overlap, the 11th-year receiver is obviously a notable addition. Crabtree did play under Mike Leach at Texas Tech, doing so after Leach had coached Kingsbury a few years prior.
Oddly, next to nothing transpired on the Crabtree front this offseason. The Ravens released Crabtree in late February; this is the first piece of news involving the 31-year-old pass catcher since. And with the Cards having re-signed Fitzgerald and invested three draft choices in wideouts this year, to go along with 2018 second-rounder Kirk, this makes for an interesting landing spot.
Crabtree spent only one season in Baltimore, hauling in 54 passes for 607 yards and three touchdowns. However, the veteran was on pace for a better 2018 showing had Joe Flacco remained as the team’s quarterback. Both Crabtree and John Brown‘s numbers took a hit when Lamar Jackson (and a new run-heavy offense) took over. Crabtree posted five 50-plus-yard games in the Ravens’ Flacco setup and zero under Jackson.
The former 49ers draft choice surpassed 900 yards for the 2015 and ’16 Raiders. Crabtree’s best year came in 2012, when he posted 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns in San Francisco. While Crabtree may be a bit past his prime, he still represents an interesting piece for Kingsbury’s first NFL offense.
Colts Claim RB D’Onta Foreman
D’Onta Foreman will have a second chance in the AFC South. The Colts claimed the third-year running back off waivers from the Texans, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
The former third-round pick will join a Colts backfield that just lost Spencer Ware. Seeing his career sidetracked by an Achilles’ tendon tear in late 2017, Foreman will venture from the defending AFC South champions to the team that beat the Texans in Round 1 of the playoffs last season.
The 236-pound back took only seven handoffs last season, gaining minus-1 yard. As Lamar Miller‘s top backup in 2017, Foreman amassed 327 rushing yards (4.2 per tote) and two touchdowns. Foreman spent the first part of the ’18 season on the Texans’ PUP list and has yet to prove he has surmounted one of the most troublesome injuries a running back can encounter.
Marlon Mack and Nyheim Hines head up the Indianapolis backfield. The Colts waived second-year running back Keith Ford, per Mike Chappell of CBS4 (on Twitter), to make room for Foreman.
While the Texans reportedly were not pleased with Foreman’s work ethic as of late, the Texas alum has a decent chance to stick on the Colts’ roster after the preseason. But that’s obviously not a given. Ware’s placement on the Colts’ reserve/PUP list ends his season, at least his chances of playing for the 2019 Colts, so the Chris Ballard-headed front office making this claim adds up.
Ravens Trade Alex Lewis To Jets
Remember that time the Ravens released offensive lineman Alex Lewis? Well, that didn’t quite happen. 
Before formally releasing him, the Ravens struck a deal to trade Lewis to the Jets, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets. In the trade, the Jets will send a conditional 2020 seventh-round pick to Baltimore.
It’s not uncommon for teams to intend on releasing a player before an eleventh-hour deal was struck. Often times, teams will leak word of an impending release via the press in order to solicit interest. In this case, the Ravens told Lewis directly that he would be released, so it’s likely that they connected with the Jets after failing to find a trade in discussions with other teams.
It’s a mild return for the Ravens, but they did manage to recoup something for a player who was owed $2MM for 2019 and was about to be released anyway. For the Jets, it’s a modest expenditure that could pay some dividends – Lewis is a former starter who can provide depth along the offensive line. Meanwhile, they will get him into the fold immediately without having to first vie for his services against other clubs.