HEADLINES

Month: November 2024

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/24/13

September 24th, 2015 at 7:01pm CST by Zachary Links

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

Michael Sam Planning On NFL Return

September 24th, 2015 at 5:54pm CST by Zachary Links

In a recent interview with ABC 17, linebacker Michael Sam said that he is planning on pursuing his NFL dream once again. As a part of that effort, Sam explained that he has fired his publicist and agent, ostensibly to show that his primary focus is on football rather than other career opportunities.

Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team, hooked on with the Montreal Alouettes after stints with the Rams and Cowboys. Sam signed with the CFL squad in May, left the team in June citing personal reasons, quickly returned, then in August announced that he would “step away from the game.” Sam’s NFL time was brief and his showing in the NFL’s new veteran combine was not very impressive as he ran, 4.99 second 40-yard dash.

The 25-year-old (26 in January) is currently working for the Mizzou Network and going through “media training” but his ultimate goal will be to make an NFL roster in 2016. When he’s not working in broadcasting or studying for his masters degree, Sam says he’ll be training hard to make his NFL dream come true.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/24/15

September 24th, 2015 at 4:15pm CST by Luke Adams

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

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

New Orleans Saints

Oakland Raiders

  • Signed: S Tevin McDonald (via Vic Tafur on Twitter)

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Community Tailgate: AFC South Outlook

September 24th, 2015 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

With the NFL season underway, we have a whole new series of topics to discuss, and PFR’s Community Tailgate is designed to address those topics. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. Every weekday, we’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

Two weeks into the NFL season, the AFC South standings don’t look like what we would’ve expected heading into 2015 — the division’s top two teams from last season, the Colts and Texans, are currently tied for last place, while the Titans and Jaguars are each pretty darn close to matching their respective win totals from 2014.

The Colts have been the division’s biggest surprise so far — while the defense wasn’t expected to be a juggernaut, Indianapolis was considered one of the frontrunners to win the AFC this year, with Andrew Luck heading into the season as the MVP favorite. However, Luck and the offense have struggled mightily in the first two weeks, getting handled on the road by the Bills, then losing at home to the Jets.

Of course, at 0-2, the Colts have hardly dug themselves into an insurmountable hole. With the Jags and Titans at 1-1, the rest of the division’s teams have combined for just two total wins, which means the Colts could be tied for first place by as early as Sunday.

Last year, Indianapolis began the season with two losses before reeling off five straight victories, averaging 33 points per game in those wins. Still, with head coach Chuck Pagano and GM Ryan Grigson reportedly not seeing eye-to-eye on every roster decision, and owner Jim Irsay expecting a Super Bowl appearance this season, it’s possible things could go south quickly for the Colts if the team doesn’t start winning soon.

What do you think? Is it just a matter of time until the Colts regain first place and cruise to another AFC South title? Or will another challenger emerge and give Indianapolis a run for its money? Weigh in below in the comments section with your thoughts!

West Notes: Chancellor, Osweiler, Bailey

September 24th, 2015 at 2:25pm CST by Luke Adams

As someone who has plenty of experience with NFL contract negotiations and standoffs, former Packers executive Andrew Brandt has an interesting summary of the Kam Chancellor situation over at TheMMQB.com. According to Brandt, the Seahawks were willing to shift about $3MM from 2017 to 2016 for their star safety, but were unwilling to add any new money to his contract.

Meanwhile, although Brandt isn’t sure how much – if any – of Chancellor’s fines and prorated bonus money the Seahawks will actually attempt to collect, he notes that many team executives around the NFL would prefer for those fines to be less optional. The thinking there is that if players faced mandatory fines for holdouts, they’d be less likely to sit out — knowing that the team may forgive those fines, a player is a little more likely to roll the dice on a holdout.

Here’s more on Chancellor, along with a couple other notes from out of the NFL’s West divisions:

  • Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) believes that Chancellor doomed his leverage in future negotiations by eventually reporting to the Seahawks, since the team will now have little reason to fear a holdout in the future. I’m not sure I buy that — the club lost two games without Chancellor, and will certainly want to avoid a similar scenario in the future. Once the safety has just two years left on his deal, I could see the Seahawks becoming a little more willing to compromise.
  • While there’s “no denying” how highly the Broncos coaching staff thinks of quarterback Trevor Siemian, Troy Renck of the Denver Post expects the club to make a strong effort to retain QB Brock Osweiler beyond the 2015 season. With no guarantee how much longer Peyton Manning will play, Osweiler may still eventually take on a larger role in Denver.
  • Former Eagles wide receiver Rasheed Bailey, who signed with the team as an undrafted free agent in the spring but was waived during the cutdown to 53 players, is working out for the Chiefs today, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Caplan adds that Bailey will likely audition for the Browns next.

17 NFL Teams Still Have IR-DTR Slot Available

September 24th, 2015 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

We’re about two and a half weeks into the NFL season, and 15 players have landed on the injured reserve list with the designation to return, including Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and Jaguars receiver and return man Rashad Greene this week. Unlike the usual IR list, which keeps a player inactive all season or until he reaches an injury settlement with his team, this IR-DTR slot allows a player to begin practicing after six weeks and to begin playing in games after eight weeks.

Of course, whereas the standard injured reserve list can accommodate several players at once, NFL teams can only use the designation to return on one player, so teams must be cautious about how to fire that single bullet. Given the eight-week timetable for the IR-DTR slot, most clubs will use it during the season’s first few weeks if they need to use it at all.

Prior to the Week 3 games in 2014, 17 teams had used their IR-DTR designation, so the fact that 15 clubs have used it so far in 2015 sounds about right. By the end of the 2014 season, all but five NFL teams had used their short-term IR slot, meaning we should expect to continue seeing clubs make use of it in the next few weeks.

Here’s a breakdown of how teams have used the IR-DTR spot so far, and which teams still have it available:

Eligible to return after Week 8:

  1. Baltimore Ravens: DE Brent Urban
  2. Cleveland Browns: CB Charles Gaines
  3. Detroit Lions: CB Alex Carter
  4. Miami Dolphins: RB Jay Ajayi
  5. Minnesota Vikings: C John Sullivan
  6. New England Patriots: C Bryan Stork
  7. New York Jets: CB Dee Milliner
  8. Pittsburgh Steelers: C Maurkice Pouncey
  9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: T Demar Dotson
  10. Tennessee Titans: RB David Cobb

Eligible to return after Week 9:

  1. Houston Texans: TE Ryan Griffin
  2. Indianapolis Colts: CB D’Joun Smith
  3. Oakland Raiders: S Nate Allen

Eligible to return after Week 10:

  1. Dallas Cowboys: QB Tony Romo
  2. Jacksonville Jaguars: WR/KR Rashad Greene

Teams with unused IR-DTR slots:

  1. Arizona Cardinals
  2. Atlanta Falcons
  3. Buffalo Bills
  4. Carolina Panthers
  5. Chicago Bears
  6. Cincinnati Bengals
  7. Denver Broncos
  8. Green Bay Packers
  9. Kansas City Chiefs
  10. New Orleans Saints
  11. New York Giants
  12. Philadelphia Eagles
  13. San Diego Chargers
  14. San Francisco 49ers
  15. Seattle Seahawks
  16. St. Louis Rams
  17. Washington

PFR Commenting Policy

September 24th, 2015 at 10:25am CST by Luke Adams

Comments of this nature are not allowed at Pro Football Rumors:

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  • Comments about how you’re sick of this topic or it’s not newsworthy.
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  • Anything else we deem bad for business.

If you see comments that fit the above criteria, please flag them and/or contact us. Bans may be handed out liberally by our moderators, without second chances. Remaining civil is not that difficult though, and most commenters have no problems doing so, as well as helping rein each other in. We are grateful for all of our longtime commenters and readers, though this policy applies equally regardless of tenure. This policy is always available at the bottom of the site, and will be re-posted monthly.

Patriots Extend Jonathan Freeny

September 24th, 2015 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

Only two games into his contract with the Patriots, linebacker and special-teamer Jonathan Freeny has shown the team enough to earn another year on his deal. According to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the Pats have extended Freeny, tacking another year onto his current contract and locking him up through the 2016 season.

After spending the first four years of his NFL career in Miami, Freeny signed a one-year pact with the Patriots earlier this year, worth $1MM — an $850K base salary, along with a $150K signing bonus. According to Yates, Freeny’s second year will feature a raise, including a $1MM base salary, a $500K signing bonus, and $250K in per-game roster bonuses.

Freeny, 26, won’t see much action on defense for the Patriots unless someone gets hurt — through two games, he has appeared in just two defensive snaps for the team. However, he’s expected to be a key contributor on special teams, having racked up 11 tackles in kick and punt coverage a year ago for the division-rival Dolphins.

Freeny’s new signing bonus will be prorated over this season and next, so his 2015 cap hit will increase a little, while his 2016 cap number will be as high as $1.5MM, depending on how many games he plays this season.

Extra Points: Jack, Johnny Football, Bucs

September 23rd, 2015 at 9:26pm CST by Zachary Links

Two-way UCLA star Myles Jack has a $5MM insurance policy that pays out if he’s not a first-round pick, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report tweets. Jack, who is done for the season after suffering a torn meniscus, might have an easier time entering the draft this year with that financial security backing him. Prior to the injury, Jack was widely considered to be a top ten prospect. Now, his stock is very much up in the air. Here’s more from around the NFL..

  • When asked if he’s still the team’s quarterback of the future, Johnny Manziel said, “From everything I’ve heard, whether it’s our GM or owner, that’s still the case [as] far as I know,” according to Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer (on Twitter). On Wednesday, the Browns announced that Josh McCown will resume his duties as starting quarterback in Week 3 against the Raiders.
  • The Buccaneers tried out cornerback Tay Glover-Wright, wide receiver Donatella Luckett, defensive back Ryan Murphy, wide receiver Evan Spencer, and safety Pierre Warren, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter) wouldn’t be surprised if cornerback Josh Gordy resurfaces with another team this year. The Giants cut the cornerback from IR with an injury settlement on Wednesday.

Pigskin Links

September 23rd, 2015 at 8:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Here at Pro Football Rumors, we deliver up-to-the-minute news on NFL transactions and high-quality original analysis. Each week, we’re also featuring some of the best blog articles from around the web in our regular feature, Pigskin Links.

We’re looking for interesting reads on all things football from blogs of all sizes. While PFR is dedicated to player movement, Pigskin Links will be open to pieces on all areas of the game. If you would like to suggest your blog post (or someone else’s) for Pigskin Links, send Zach an email with the link and a brief synopsis at PigskinLinks@gmail.com.

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