HEADLINES

Month: January 2025

Minor Moves: Tuesday

January 6th, 2015 at 6:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are today’s minor transactions from around the league, including 53-man roster moves by a team still alive in the postseason:

  • The Seahawks announced that they have placed defensive lineman Jordan Hill on season ending injured reserve, as Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times tweets. To fill his spot, Seattle signed safety Steven Terrell to the active roster. Jimmy Staten was signed to the taxi squad, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (via Twitter).
  • The Colts have placed guard Hugh Thornton, who started eight games for the team this year, on injured reserve, the club announced today in a press release. To replace him on the roster, Indianapolis signed running back Michael Hill, who spent time on the team’s practice squad earlier in the season.
  • Like the Colts, the Panthers are still in the playoff mix, but Carolina’s Tuesday move doesn’t affect the team’s 53-man roster — Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer tweets that the Panthers have signed tight end Mike McNeill, who was with the club in training camp, to a reserve/futures contract.
  • Former Louisville offensive lineman Alex Kupper signed a reserve/futures contract today with the Bills, according to the team.
  • The Dolphins have signed kicker Zach Hocker to a futures deal, according to a tweet from Hocker himself. Hocker was selected in the seventh round of 2014’s draft by Washington.

Lions Sign 12 Players To Futures Deals

January 6th, 2015 at 4:37pm CST by Luke Adams

4:37pm: Twentyman (Twitter link) adds Williams, whose pending deal was noted below, to the list of Lions signees, bringing the total to 12.

3:31pm: The Lions became the latest team to announce a series of reserve/futures signings for 2015 today, confirming that they’ve inked 11 players to new deals. Here’s the complete list of signees, via Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (Twitter links):

Of the 11 players signed today by the Lions, eight finished the season on the team’s practice squad, with Boggs, Cave, and Hyder representing the new additions. Cornerback Trevin Wade and offensive tackle Michael Williams have yet to officially sign new deals, though Williams is expected to re-sign soon, per Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

Andrus Peat To Enter Draft

January 6th, 2015 at 4:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Stanford offensive tackle Andrus Peat will enter his name into the 2015 NFL draft, according to Alan George, the school’s assistant media relations director (via Twitter). Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports had reported yesterday that Peat was leaning toward forgoing his final year of eligibility at Stanford and going pro.

Peat, who was reportedly on the fence about the decision as recently as last week, projects as a probable first-round pick for 2015. Capable of playing left tackle in the NFL, Peat ranks as the second-best tackle on the big board at CBSSports.com, coming in at 11th among all 2015 prospects.

In his first mock draft for ESPN.com (Insider-only link), Todd McShay has Peat going 24th overall to the Bengals, noting that he has moved the big lineman down on his board a little this season. However, McShay still believes that Peat has “ideal physical tools” for the NFL level, with “good length, a powerful upper body and very good agility in pass protection.”

Peat becomes the latest underclassmen added to our list of early entrants for the 2015 draft.

Tannenbaum To Head Dolphins’ Football Ops

January 6th, 2015 at 3:35pm CST by Luke Adams

3:35pm: According to James Walker of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Dolphins have officially confirmed the hiring of Tannenbaum, who will be the team’s new executive VP of football operations.

1:55pm: After working as a consultant for the Dolphins during the 2014 season, Mike Tannenbaum will join the team full-time for 2015, according to Mike Garafolo and Alex Marvez of FOX Sports. The duo reports that Miami is expected to hand over its football operations to Tannenbaum in the near future.

Michael Wilkering of Pro Football Talk confirms the move and provides additional details on Tannenbaum’s anticipated role in Miami, writing that the Dolphins will name him their executive vice president of player personnel. Per Wilkering, Tannenbaum will officially start his work with the Dolphins on February 1.

Tannenbaum, a former general manager of the division-rival Jets, has been an agent for NFL and NBA coaches at Priority Sports for the last couple years, and represents a few coaches in the mix for new jobs this offseason, such as Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Sources tell Garafolo and Marvez that Tannenbaum is expected to see his work with those clients through the interview process before transitioning into his full-time position in Miami.

With the season winding down last month, there was speculation that Tannenbaum’s voice in the Dolphins’ decisions was becoming more prominent — Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald wrote that the ex-Jets GM would “obviously have say” in what happens with the club’s head coaching situation, which ultimately resulted in Joe Philbin being retained.

At the time, I noted that the role of Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey in the team’s major decisions was unclear. Now, it appears as if Hickey will remain in his current role, but will report to Tannenbaum, who will oversee Miami’s football operations. While Hickey will report to Tannenbaum, Philbin is expected to continue to report directly to owner Stephen Ross, says Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (Twitter links).

NFC North Notes: Bears, Gaine, AP, Lions

January 6th, 2015 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

As the last NFC North team left standing prepares to host its divisional playoff game this Sunday, let’s round up a few items on the Packers‘ division rivals….

  • A scouting director who has worked directly with Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard thinks Ballard should be “a lock” as the Bears‘ next general manager, writes Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com. That same source believes that if Ballard lands the Chicago job, he could look at ex-Bears special teams coordinator Dave Toub as a head coaching candidate.
  • While Ballard may be the favorite for the Bears‘ job, multiple sources tell Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link) that Texans executive Brian Gaine is interviewing for the position today. A league source suggests to Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link) that Gaine may be consultant Ernie Accorsi‘s top recommendation for the team.
  • The first court date in Adrian Peterson‘s legal case challenging his suspension will be February 6, says Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The Vikings running back and the NFLPA will likely push to get resolution in time for the start of March’s free agent period, to allow Peterson the opportunity to reach the market along with everyone else, if Minnesota decides to cut him.
  • Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said on Monday that he has yet to decide whether to make changes to his coaching staff, and strongly defended the work of offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. Kyle Meinke of MLive.com has the details and the quotes from Caldwell.

Bengals, Shiloh Keo Agree To Terms

January 6th, 2015 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bengals have agreed to terms on a deal with safety Shiloh Keo, a source tells Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). It figures to be a reserve/futures contract for Keo, who didn’t finish the season on an NFL roster.

Keo, 26, racked up 63 tackles in Houston’s secondary in 2013, also defending six passes and snagging an interception. However, the former fifth-round pick’s injury woes and unspectacular play saw him surpassed on the depth chart early in 2014 by Kendrick Lewis and Danieal Manning. Keo was cut by Houston about a month into the season, after battling a calf injury for the first few weeks.

News of Keo’s agreement with the Bengals comes on the heels of yesterday’s announcement that Cincinnati had signed seven players off its practice squad to futures contracts.

P.J. Williams To Enter Draft

January 6th, 2015 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Junior cornerback P.J. Williams has elected to forgo his senior season at Florida State and enter the 2015 NFL draft, he announced today on Instagram.

“I will be taking my talent to the NFL,” Williams wrote in the post announcing his decision. “I wanna thank the NoleNation for some of the best 3 years of my life, the memories will never fade!!”

Williams, 21, earned Defensive MVP honors in the BCS Championship game a year ago as a sophomore, logging seven tackles and an interception. He built on that performance in his junior year with the Seminoles, recording 60 tackles to go along with an interception, a forced fumble, and a sack.

CBSSports.com currently ranks Williams as the draft’s fourth-best cornerback, and 34th overall prospect, making him a borderline first-round talent.

Dorial Green-Beckham To Enter Draft

January 6th, 2015 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops confirmed today to reporters that wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham informed him last week that he intends to enter the 2015 NFL draft, per Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The junior wideout will forgo his remaining year of college eligibility, despite speculation early in the season that he’d stick with the Sooners in 2015.

After a number of off-field incidents at Missouri, including multiple marijuana violations, Green-Beckham was dismissed from Mizzou’s program last April, following a sophomore year in which he racked up 883 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on 59 receptions. The young wideout joined Oklahoma for the 2014 season, but was unable to play at all due to NCAA transfer rules.

Mel Kiper of ESPN.com wrote last month that Green-Beckham would have had a chance to challenge Amari Cooper for the No. 1 spot among receivers in 2015’s draft class if not for his “significant off-field red flags.” In spite of those red flags, DGB’s talent will likely be too tantalizing for teams to pass up on day one – or very early on day two – this spring. CBSSports.com currently has Green-Beckham ranked 26th overall, and fifth among wide receivers.

AFC Notes: Chargers, Roethlisberger, Ravens

January 6th, 2015 at 10:34am CST by Luke Adams

The notion of the Rams moving west to Los Angeles gained some steam with this week’s announcement that Rams owner Stan Kroenke intends to build an NFL stadium in Inglewood. However, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) says he was told Monday that Chargers owner Dean Spanos will attempt to block the Rams if they try to move to L.A., and believes he has the nine votes necessary to stop a move. We’re a long way from arriving at that point, but I’d be surprised if Kroenke attempted to move forward with a move if he didn’t believe he had the votes from ownership to approve it.

  • As they look to make additions to their offseason roster, the Chargers worked out two CFL players, offensive lineman Ben Heenan and defensive back Delvin Breaux, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link via ESPN’s Eric Williams). Heenan auditioned for the Lions on Saturday, while Breaux has now tried out for five clubs since December.
  • Asked about his contract status as he prepares to enter a contract year, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said today that he’d like to get an extension done sooner rather than later, but he’ll leave that up to his agent and the Rooney family (Twitter links via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).
  • With New England and Baltimore prepared to square off in Saturday’s divisional playoff, Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com revisits the Ravens‘ offseason decision to pursue and sign Steve Smith rather than fellow free agent receiver Julian Edelman.
  • In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Yates looks back on an offseason decision of his own, exploring the Bills‘ move to trade their 2015 first-rounder to move up and snag wideout Sammy Watkins. Recent reports have indicated former head coach Doug Marrone wasn’t too happy about that deal, and Yates concludes that Marrone was right to be upset.

Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.

Coach Updates: Shanahans, Bears, Bills, Jags

January 6th, 2015 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

Mike Shanahan has already talked to the 49ers, Bills, and Raiders about their head coaching vacancies, and it sounds like he’ll have at least one more interview. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter), Shanahan will meet with the Bears about their head coaching position after the team hires a general manager, which could happen soon — Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times says the team has set a Saturday deadline.

As Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com notes (via Twitter), there are multiple signs pointing to Shanahan as a viable candidate in Chicago. For one, Chiefs executive Chris Ballard is considered a strong contender to be the Bears’ next general manager, and he’d likely be pro-Shanahan. La Canfora adds that Shanahan and quarterback Jay Cutler have remained close, and believe they could thrive together.

According to La Canfora (Twitter links), while it’s possible that Browns offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan ends up working for the same team as his father, the two men are charting their own courses, and aren’t shopping themselves as a package. The younger Shanahan is set to interview for the Bills‘ head coaching opening on Thursday, tweets La Canfora.

Here are a few more non-Shanahan coaching updates from around the NFL:

  • Ian Rapoport of NFL.com confirms (via Twitter) that in addition to Shanahan and Teryl Austin, Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson will interview with the Bills this week.
  • Rapoport also has an update on Washington‘s defensive coordinator interviews, reporting that Chargers linebacker coach Joe Barry arrived in town yesterday to meet with the team, while 49ers defensive backs coach Ed Donatell will speak to the club on Wednesday (Twitter links). Wade Phillips‘ interview for the Washington DC job is scheduled for Thursday, tweets John Keim of ESPN.com.
  • With no concrete updates to provide on the Jaguars‘ hunt for an offensive coordinator, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union suggests that head coach Gus Bradley either hasn’t shifted the search into high gear, or he’s secretly casting a wide net.
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