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Month: November 2024

Jets Waive Leon McFadden

September 11th, 2014 at 4:10pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets have waived cornerback Leon McFadden, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). McFadden didn’t survive the Browns’ cut down to a 53-man roster and today Gang Green has dropped him from theirs.

This isn’t how many saw things panning out for McFadden, who was the Browns‘ 2013 third-round pick. Even earlier in the offseason, McFadden was projected to have a key role in the Browns’ secondary this season. Instead, he’s on the unemployment line in the midst of Week 2.

In 16 games last season, McFadden saw two starts for Cleveland and registered 13 tackles with one pass deflection.

Vincent Brown Drawing Interest

September 11th, 2014 at 2:16pm CST by Zachary Links

THURSDAY, 2:16pm: The Vikings are not one of the teams that have reached out to Brown, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN.

12:06pm: Brown has at least three workouts scheduled for next week, provided he doesn’t sign with another team before then, tweets Caplan.

WEDNESDAY, 7:19pm: Former Chargers wide receiver Vincent Brown has interest from at least eight teams, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). He’ll begin working out for teams next week.

Brown, 25, made a name for himself in 2013 with the Bolts, hauling in a career high 41 catches for 472 yards and one touchdown. Once viewed as a potential future stud for the Chargers, Brown was dropped in late August as a part of the club’s cut down to a 53-man roster. On Saturday, the former third round pick secured an injury settlement from San Diego as he looks for his next opportunity. From the sound of it, he may not be out of a job for long.

We don’t know who the eight teams with interest are, but Conor Orr of The Star-Ledger hears that the Giants aren’t among them, even though they’re waiting on injured rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

NFC North Notes: Lions, Bears, Vikings

September 11th, 2014 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Let’s round up a few Thursday items from out of the NFC North, where the two preseason favorites – the Packers and Bears – sit at 0-1, looking up at the first-place Lions and Vikings….

  • The Lions will have an open roster spot after placing Corey Hilliard and Bill Bentley on injured reserve this week, and while it had been assumed that the opening would be used to add a defensive back, it won’t necessarily be an outside signing. Head coach Jim Caldwell said today that the most likely scenario would have the team promoting a player from its practice squad, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. As Birkett points out (via Twitter), Mohammed Seisay and Nate Ness are the two defensive backs currently on the club’s practice squad.
  • Depending on the status of a handful of their injured players, the Bears could make additional roster moves before Sunday, perhaps to add an offensive lineman and/or a wide receiver, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
  • The Vikings were among the teams that had players in for workouts this week, auditioning linebackers Steve Beauharnais and Phillip Steward, as well as guard Jon Halapio, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). It’s worth noting that both Beauharnais and Halapio were cut at the end of the preseason by the Patriots, Minnesota’s Week 2 opponent.

Chargers Sign Doug Legursky

September 11th, 2014 at 12:51pm CST by Luke Adams

12:51pm: The Chargers have officially announced the signing of Legursky in a press release.

11:30am: In the wake of Nick Hardwick‘s season-ending neck injury, the Chargers will add some offensive line depth by signing veteran lineman Doug Legursky to their roster, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

Legursky, who spent his first four NFL seasons with the Steelers, made 17 starts in 51 total games for Pittsburgh before joining the Bills for the 2013 season. After starting 11 contests in Buffalo, Legursky was cut loose last month when the team trimmed its roster down from 75 to 53 players. The 28-year-old worked out for the Jets earlier this week, but now has found work in San Diego instead.

The Chargers’ press release announcing that Hardwick was done for the year and would be placed on injured reserve indicated that the club planned to replace its starting center with Rich Ohrnberger, so I would assume he’ll still get the first crack at staking his claim to the job. However, if he struggles, we may see Legursky, who has played both center and guard, given the opportunity to earn some playing time.

Practice Squad Updates: Thursday

September 11th, 2014 at 12:28pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll round up Thursday’s news related to teams adding and removing players from their practice squads in this post, with the latest moves added to the top of the page throughout the day….

  • With Chris Long having been placed on the injured reserve list with the designation to return, the Rams filled his 53-man roster spot by promoting defensive tackle Matt Conrath from their practice squad, according to his agency Eastern Athletics (Twitter link). Defensive end Kourtnei Brown has been added to the team’s practice squad in Conrath’s place, per agency ARN Sports and Entertainment (Twitter link).
  • After cutting him from their active roster, the Broncos have re-added wideout Nathan Palmer to their practice squad, the club announced today (Twitter link).
  • The Bears have signed wide receiver and kick returner Chris Williams to their practice squad, tweets Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com. Williams, the fourth receiver on Chicago’s practice squad, will take the place of linebacker DeDe Lattimore, who has been cut.
  • Defensive lineman Kona Schwenke has been removed from the Chiefs‘ practice squad to make room for newly-added safety Daniel Sorensen, tweets Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star. Sorensen has cut from the club’s 53-man roster earlier in the week.

Jabari Greer Announces Retirement

September 11th, 2014 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on ESPN’s First Take this morning, veteran cornerback Jabari Greer announced that he intends to end his NFL career (Twitter link via ESPN). After his appearance on ESPN, Greer confirmed the news on his Twitter account, tweeting, “10 years was a blast! Thank You Lord! #retirement.”

Greer, 32, started his career in 2004 with the Bills as an undrafted free agent, and has appeared in a total of 133 contests (86 starts) for Buffalo and New Orleans since entering the league. A key part of the Saints’ 2009 Super Bowl team, the Tennessee product compiled 13 interceptions and more than 400 tackles during his decade in the NFL.

Released in the offseason after a knee injury cut his 2013 campaign short, Greer said back in July that his rehab was “going really well,” though he wasn’t actively pursuing any opportunities to return to the NFL at the time. “I think my pride and my body have two different things to say about that,” Greer said at the time. “But we’ll see. I mean, God can do anything, man.”

It’s not clear whether Greer is retiring for health reasons or if he simply feels it’s time for him to walk away from the game, but either way, it sounds as if we won’t see him in action on an NFL field again.

South Auditions: Bucs, Titans, Jags, Panthers

September 11th, 2014 at 10:17am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we passed along several updates from Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun on AFC and NFC East teams working out free agents, perhaps with an eye on signing some of them later in the season. A handful of teams in the AFC and NFC South have also auditioned players this week, and Wilson has those items as well, via Twitter. Here are the highlights:

East Auditions: Bills, Pats, Jets, Eagles

September 11th, 2014 at 8:52am CST by Luke Adams

While not every NFL team is making adjustments to its 53-man roster this week, many clubs are at least auditioning free agents to get a sense of which players might be worth revisiting later in the season, as injuries begin to take their toll. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun has passed along word of several of those auditions, via Twitter, so let’s take a look at which free agents are working out for teams in the NFL’s two East divisions….

Extra Points: Abraham, Hardy, Polamalu, Rams

September 10th, 2014 at 10:20pm CST by Zachary Links

Cardinals coach Bruce Arians told SiriusXM that reports of John Abraham suffering from memory loss was “news to him” and the issue wasn’t discussed during their recent conversation, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports 1 (on Twitter). Abraham, who has more career sacks than Lawrence Taylor and is ninth on the all-time sacks leaderboard, has left the Cardinals and may never play again. More from around the NFL..

  • Even though his alleged actions took place before the NFL put the new domestic violence discipline policy in place, Roger Goodell says Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy will be subject to the new policy, writes Will Brinson of CBSSports.com. The same applies to 49ers defensive end Ray McDonald.
  • Troy Polamalu and the Steelers have had a very productive relationship together and it almost didn’t happen, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com writes. In the offseason prior to the 2003 season, the Steelers had their sights set on Super Bowl MVP Dexter Jackson. When the Cardinals, of all teams, got to him first, the Steelers turned their attention to the draft and plucked Polamalu with the No. 16 pick.
  • While the Rams are equipped with talented backups like William Hayes and Eugene Sims, the loss of Chris Long means that they’re without their top leader, writes Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. Long was placed on the injured reserve with a designation to return earlier today.
  • Jets coach Rex Ryan said today that he took Calvin Pryor in this year’s draft over Packers safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix because the Louisville product can “knock your face in.” Clinton-Dix, meanwhile, wants it to be known that he can bring the pain as well and plans to show it. “No doubt and you’re going to see it. Week in and week out, as I get my chance to come up and make those big hits, it will happen. That time will come,” the Green Bay rookie said, according to ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky.

Latest On Ray Rice Incident

September 10th, 2014 at 9:59pm CST by Luke Adams

9:59pm: Goodell announced that former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III will conduct an independent investigation on the Rice incident, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Mueller’s investigation will be overseen by NFL owners John Mara of the Giants and Art Rooney of the Steelers, and the final report will be made public (link).

The league has hired independent investigators for conflicts in the past, including the Jonathan Martin/Richie Incognito case of last year and Chris Kluwe‘s situation with the Vikings.

7:06pm: Senate Commerce Committee chairman Jay Rockefeller is mobilizing members to hold hearings on the NFL domestic violence issue, according to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (on Twitter).

6:15pm: When asked how the NFL will look into the new report from the AP, a source told Norah O’Donnell of CBS (on Twitter) that the league’s “security department will be doing everything we can to determine if this is true.” An NFL exec told O’Donnell (link) that the AP report doesn’t contradict what Goodell said but “if there’s a delivery sitting under someone’s desk there will be consequences.”

6:13pm: A source tells Mark Maske of the Washington Post (on Twitter) that Goodell remains adamant that he won’t resign.

5:56pm: According to Josh Margolin, Darren Rovell, and Aaron Katersky of ABC News, the Revel casino told the Ravens to ask Rice’s lawyer for a copy of the video, but the team never followed through on that.

Meanwhile, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, team president Dick Cass, and GM Ozzie Newsome sat down with Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun and discussed the situation. Cass detailed the organization’s efforts to obtain a copy of the video, which included calling the casino, the prosecutor’s office and the New Jersey state police. Rice’s lawyer, however, was not in that list of people contacted for the footage.

4:07pm: On the heels of commissioner Roger Goodell issuing a memo to team owners and execs reiterating that the league was unable to view or obtain the elevator footage of Ray Rice‘s attack on his then-fiancée, a law enforcement official now says that he sent an NFL executive a copy of the video in April, writes Rob Maaddi of The Associated Press.

According to the AP report, the law enforcement official played a 12-second voicemail from an NFL office number in which a female voice confirms the video arrived, expresses thanks, and says, “You’re right. It’s terrible.” Although the law enforcement official wasn’t legally authorized to released the video, he tells the AP that he shared it with the NFL because he wanted the league to see it before deciding on Rice’s punishment.

Goodell and league officials have repeatedly stated that they tried to view the elevator footage, requesting it from multiple police departments, but were unable to obtain it. In the wake of the AP’s report, an NFL spokesman tells Mike Garafalo of FOX Sports (Twitter link) that the league has “no knowledge” of anyone from its office viewing the video, and will “look into” the matter.

Needless to say, it would be a significant blow for the NFL and for Goodell if it turns out league executives had indeed viewed the recently-leaked video months ago. While a seemingly half-hearted and unsuccessful attempt to obtain the video reflects poorly on the NFL, it would be far more damaging for league officials if they viewed the footage, decided on merely a two-game suspension for Rice, and then tried to cover their tracks this week by lying about what they knew.

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