Minor NFL Transactions: 5/11/21
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Cleveland Browns
- Waived: K Matt McCrane
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: LB Anthony Butler
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed: WR Caleb Scott
Los Angeles Rams
- Claimed (from Titans): LS Matthew Orzech
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: DB Trill Williams
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: LB Calvin Bundage
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: CB Quenton Meeks
Colts To Sign DT Antwaun Woods
Shortly after the Cowboys made Antwaun Woods a post-draft cut, he booked a Colts visit. That meeting will lead to a deal. The Colts and Woods agreed to terms on a one-year contract Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Woods met with the Colts on Monday and will now be in line to provide depth for Indianapolis’ DeForest Buckner-led D-tackle crew. Woods has been a starter for multiple seasons, working as such 32 times for the Cowboys from 2018-20.
While Woods’ time in Dallas did not overlap with Colts DC Matt Eberflus‘, with the former Titans UDFA landing in Texas in 2018, the 318-pound defender will be tasked with helping Eberflus’ Indianapolis unit. Buckner and Grover Stewart serve as the Colts’ first-string defensive tackles, but versatile performer Denico Autry left in free agency. Woods, 28, has more experience than Indianapolis’ other inside rotational options.
The Colts did draft a player who profiles as an inside defender this year, or a cog that could see time at both end and tackle, in second-rounder Dayo Odeyingbo. But the 6-foot-6 Vanderbilt product suffered an Achilles tear in January and may not play until 2022. In the meantime, Woods will aim to help. He did finish outside Pro Football Focus’ top 80 interior defenders last season, but the Colts likely hold a different view of his capabilities.
Broncos To Sign OT Ryan Pope
The Broncos are set to sign offensive tackle Ryan Pope (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). Pope agreed to terms shortly after his Tuesday workout, though the team will still consider other options after their Wednesday session.
Dennis Kelly, Cameron Fleming, and Bobby Massie are among the veteran tackles who will audition for the Broncos this week. The team has cast a wide net ever since Ja’Wuan James‘ season-ending injury, though they’re unlikely to find a long-term solve at this stage of the offseason. Former Bears starter Charles Leno is also available as of this writing, though he may be ticketed for the Washington Football Team instead.
Pope, a 6’7″, 315-pound blocker, has made the rounds since leaving San Diego State, but he has yet to see live action in the NFL. Last year, he missed the Jaguars’ final cut and spent the bulk of the year on the Packers’ practice squad.
Falcons Cut K Elliott Fry
The Falcons have released kicker Elliott Fry, per a club announcement. Now, Younghoe Koo currently stands as the only kicker on Atlanta’s roster. 
Fry, a South Carolina product, spent time in the short-lived Alliance of American Football before signing a string of NFL deals. After stints with the Bears, Ravens, Panthers, and Buccaneers he joined the Falcons’ taxi squad last year. He appeared in one game, making one field goal plus two extra point tries.
In college, Fry converted on 66 of 88 field goal attempts. He was expected to vie for the Falcons’ job this year, though he was a longshot to beat out Koo. Koo, a 2020 Pro Bowler, nailed 37 of 39 FG tries while nailing 33 of 36 XPs.
Panthers Cut Frank Herron, Sign Two UDFAs
Frank Herron‘s stint with the Panthers lasted less than a month. The Panthers waived the defensive tackle today, per the NFL’s transaction report.
The 26-year-old has bounced around the NFL since going undrafted out of LSU in 2018, spending time with the (inhales) the Patriots, Seahawks, Patriots (second stint), Titans, Lions, Dolphins, Lions (second stint), and Panthers (exhales). Herron has seen time in seven career games, collecting 11 tackles and one tackle for loss.
After spending much of the 2020 season bouncing on and off the Lions active roster (he ultimately saw time in four games), he was let go a final time in early January. Then, in mid-April, he ended up finding his next gig with the Panthers, although he didn’t even make it to training camp with his new squad.
The Panthers likely made this move to carve out some extra roster space, especially after they added two undrafted free agents today. Per the league’s transaction report, the team signed Alabama-Birmingham running back Spencer Brown and Northwestern linebacker Paddy Fisher.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/10/21
Monday’s minor moves
New York Jets
- Placed on reserve/PUP list: S Saquan Hampton
Washington Football Team
- Waived: TE Marcus Baugh
Chiefs Release OL Bryan Witzmann
The Chiefs carved out a few roster spots today by letting go of three players. Per the NFL’s transactions report, the team released offensive lineman Bryan Witzmann and tight end Sean Culkin. The team also waived quarterback Jordan Ta’amu.
Witzmann, 30, has managed to stick around the NFL for seven years despite going undrafted out of South Dakota State in 2014. The lineman made a name for himself with the Chiefs, appearing in 26 games (with 20 starts) between the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He appeared in 10 games (seven starts) for the Bears in 2018 before he was limited to only a pair of games with the Panthers in 2019.
The veteran spent much of the 2020 season as a free agent before catching on with the Chiefs practice squad in October. He ultimately saw time in only one game for Kansas City, although he did enough to get a new contract from the team back in February. The Chiefs have been active revamping their offensive line this offseason, and Witzmann is just the latest casualty.
Culkin has started 12 of his 19 games since entering the NFL in 2017, but he’s only hauled in a pair of catches. He spent the majority of the 2020 season with the Ravens, and he inked a reserve/futures contract with the Chiefs back in February.
Ta’amu has bounced around the NFL since going undrafted out of Ole Miss in 2019, spending time with the Texans, Lions, and Chiefs (two stints). He joined Kansas City’s practice squad in January and later inked a reserve/futures contract with the organization. The quarterback also spent time in the XFL, earning a Player of the Week award.
Titans Cut LB Nate Orchard
Nate Orchard‘s stint with the Titans has come to an end. The Titans released the veteran linebacker today, per the NFL ‘s official transactions report. Tennessee also waived tight end Parker Hesse and long snapper Matt Orzech.
The 2015 second-round pick lived up to his draft stock during his rookie season, finishing with three sacks and four QB hits. After spending most of his sophomore campaign on the IR, Orchard settled into a backup role with the Browns in 2017, but he was cut by Cleveland prior to the 2018 campaign. Since that time, the veteran has bounced around the NFL, spending time with the Bills, Chiefs, Seahawks, Dolphins, Washington, and Texans. He saw time in three games for WFT last season, collecting a pair of tackles.
After getting cut by Washington in November, Orchard caught on with the Titans practice squad. He inked a futures contract with the organization in January. Ultimately, the 28-year-old won’t make it to training camp with the organization.
Orzech, a 2019 undrafted free agent, got into 16 games as a rookie with the Jaguars. In 2020, he had stints with the Jaguars and Dolphins before landing with the Titans practice squad.
Hesse, a former University of Iowa standout, spent most of the 2020 season on Tennessee’s practice squad.
Browns Claim Chase McLaughlin
The Browns have added some more competition for Cody Parkey. Cleveland was awarded Chase McLaughlin off waivers from the Jets, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.
The Jets had claimed McLaughlin off waivers themselves from the Jaguars last December. He’s already bounced around a remarkable portion of the league considering he only entered the NFL as an UDFA in 2019. Despite playing just two seasons, McLaughlin has already spent time with the Bills, Vikings, Chargers, 49ers, Colts, Vikings (again), Jaguars, Jets, and now Browns.
He’s now played for a fourth of the league, and only just turned 25. Most of those stints were obviously short, and a few were just on the practice squad or during the preseason. As far as regular season action goes, McLaughlin kicked in a few games for the Colts, Chargers, and 49ers all in 2019. He then kicked in three for the Jags last year and one for the Jets.
In his career, the Illinois product is 22/28 on field goals and 31/32 on extra points. Parkey was solid but not spectacular in his first year in Cleveland in 2020, making 19 of 22 field goals and 43 of 47 extra points. The Browns never even had him attempt one from beyond 50 yards. They also currently have Matthew McCrane on the offseason roster.
Patriots To Sign Harvey Langi
The Patriots are bringing in a familiar face for some defensive depth. New England has agreed to terms with free agent linebacker Harvey Langi, his agent Kenny Zuckerman tweets.
Pats fans may remember Langi, since the team signed him as an undrafted free agent back in 2017. At the time he was arguably the most sought after undrafted free agent of the class, as the Patriots gave him over $100K guaranteed to sign with them. He ended up only appearing in one game as a rookie, and spent most of the year on the NFI list as the result of a car crash.
He was waived at final cuts the following year, and quickly scooped up by the Jets. After spending 2018 on New York’s practice squad, he began to make a real impact in 2019. Langi played in 30 games with the Jets the past two years, starting nine.
In 2020 he started six games, finishing with 60 tackles. Despite playing 45 percent of the defensive snaps, the Jets elected not to tender him as a restricted free agent this offseason. Now, he’s getting another chance to impress Bill Belichick.