2015 September - Pro Football Rumors

Raiders Release Taylor Mays

September 5th, 2015 at 8:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Taylor Mays‘ journeyman 2015 will continue after he once again saw his contract terminated by a team.

The Raiders joined the Vikings and Lions in releasing the safety this year. Oakland signed the sixth-year veteran last week, and Mays played in two preseason games with his new team after suiting up for one with the Lions.

Only listing three safeties on its 53-man roster, Oakland opted to go with Larry Asante as its primary backup safety behind Nate Allen and Charles Woodson.

Mays played four seasons with the Bengals prior to embarking on this complex search for a new home.

Bears Release Mason Foster

September 5th, 2015 at 7:47pm CST by Sam Robinson

Mason Foster signed with the Bears less than six months ago, but the fifth-year linebacker won’t officially suit up for them this season.

As part of paring their roster down to 53 players, the Bears released Foster, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.

A four-year starter at middle linebacker with the Buccaneers, Foster could not beat out Shea McClellin or Christian Jones for one of Chicago’s inside linebacker jobs.

Jon Bostic and undrafted free agent John Timu round out the team’s inside-linebacking unit. The 26-year-old Foster, who signed a one-year deal in March, is free to sign with any team.

Saints Slim Down Roster To 53

September 5th, 2015 at 7:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

One season and two training camps proved sufficient for the Saints to determine whether Stanley Jean-Baptiste was capable of making an impact for them.

They determined the 2014 second-round pick wasn’t good enough for their roster, notes Katherine Terrell of NOLA.com. Jean-Baptiste only played eight snaps last year and as a result of this move, Brandin Cooks is the only player remaining on the team from last year’s draft class.

The Saints instead kept 2014 undrafted free agent Brian Dixon, who played 166 snaps as a rookie, among their seven-cornerback contingent.

New Orleans did not keep veteran receiver Josh Morgan, either, and will go with a mostly young receiving stable, excepting Marques Colston.

Jairus Byrd also avoided having to start the season on the PUP list, per Terrell.

The Saints’ other cuts are as follows:

Justin Anderson, LB
Edwin Baker, RB
Nick Becton, OL
Orson Charles, TE
Henry Coley, LB
Jerry Franklin, LB
Mike Golic Jr., OL
Ryan Griffin, QB
Bryce Harris, T
Sean Hickey, OL
Seantavius Jones, WR
Dustin Hopkins, K
Cyril Lemon, OL
Chris Manhertz, TE
Joseph Morgan, WR
Toben Opurum, FB
Sammy Seamster, CB
Alex Smith, TE
Pierre Warren, S

Cardinals Cut Down To 53

September 5th, 2015 at 6:54pm CST by Sam Robinson

Joining the Saturday deadline craze, the Cardinals cut their roster down to 53 players.

Among those waived or released was quarterback Logan Thomas, a second-year quarterback who became expendable once the Cardinals traded for Matt Barkley on Friday.

The remainder of Arizona’s cuts are as follows:

Cameron Bradfield, T
Cariel Brooks, CB
Jonte Green, CB
Marion Grice, RB (Waived/injured)
Jon Halapio, G
Trevor Harman, WR
Robert Hughes, RB
Harold Jones-Quartey, S
Paul Lasike, RB
Jimmy Legree, CB (Waived/injured)
Gabe Martin, ILB
Antoine McClain, G
C.J. Roberts, CB
Jaxon Shipley, WR
Phillip Sims, QB
Anthony Steen, G
Alameda Te’Amu, NT
Anthony Walters, S
Kerwynn Williams, RB

Lions Reach 53-Man Roster

September 5th, 2015 at 6:25pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Lions slashed their roster to the 53-man regular-season limit and included a couple of notable names in their cuts.

Veteran defensive lineman Corey Wootton did not make the roster after joining the Lions this offseason. The 28-year-old made 22 starts for the Bears in 2012-13 before serving as a Vikings backup last season.

To make room for Zach Zenner and Tim Wright, respectively, Detroit waived George Winn and Joseph Fauria. After releasing former Boise State star Kellen Moore, the Lions also will go into a season with just two quarterbacks for the first time since 2009.

The remainder of Detroit’s cuts are as follows:

Al Bond, OL
Crezdon Butler, DB
Braxston Cave, OL
Jermelle Cudjo, DL
Kerry Hyder, DL
Emil Igwenagu, RB
Isaiah Johnson, DB
Joe Madsen, OL
Nate Ness, DB
Casey Pierce, TE
Xavier Proctor, OL
Jeremy Ross, WR
Greg Salas, WR (placed on IR)
Julian Stanford, LB
Brian Suite, DB
Larry Webster, DL
Torrian Wilson, OL
Jerel Worthy, DL

Bucs Announce Remaining Cuts, Down To 53

September 5th, 2015 at 6:12pm CST by Luke Adams

The Buccaneers have confirmed a number of previously-reported transactions, including the release of kicker Connor Barth and defensive end Da’Quan Bowers, and have announced the rest of their moves to get their roster down to 53 players.

Here’s the full list of Tampa Bay’s transactions that weren’t included in our story from this morning, as announced by the team in a press release.

Placed on injured reserve:

DE Larry English

Released:

DE Lawrence Sidbury

Waived:

CB Jude Adjei-Barimah
WR Kaelin Clay
T Edawn Coughman
DE Ryan Delaire
WR Donteea Dye
LB Josh Keyes
DT Caushaud Lyons

Waived/injured:

OL Garrett Gilkey

Packers Cut 20, Settle On 53-Man Roster

September 5th, 2015 at 6:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

In addition to placing Letroy Guion and Datone Jones on the reserve/suspended list, the Packers cut 18 players and waived two injured performers.

Green Bay parted ways with running backs Rajion Neal and John Crockett, leaving undrafted rookie Alonzo Harris as the third running back behind Eddie Lacy and James Starks.

The reigning NFC North champions’ additional departures are as follows:

Jared Abbrederis, WR
Carl Bradford, LB
John Fanor, S
Garth Gerhart, C
Tay Glover-Wright, CB
Mitchell Henry, TE
Justin Perillo, TE
Andy Phillips, C/G
Larry Pickard, WR (Waived/injured)
Jermaria Rasco, LB (Waived/injured)
Christian Ringo, DT
Matt Rotheram, G
Joe Thomas, LB
Khyri Thornton, DT
James Vaughters, LB
Jeremy Vujnovich, T
Ryan White, CB
Ed Williams, WR

Vikings Reduce Roster To 53 Players

September 5th, 2015 at 5:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Having acquired offensive lineman Jeremiah Sirles from the Chargers earlier today, the Vikings needed to remove 23 players from their active roster, as the league moved from 75-man rosters down to 53-man squads. Minnesota announced all of its moves in one go, issuing a press release that features 22 cuts, along with cornerback Jabari Price heading to the reserve/suspended list.

Here are the players cut today by the Vikings:

T Babatunde Aiyegbusi
DT Chigbo Anunoby
DE B.J. Dubose
G Isame Faciane
C Tom Farniok
WR Donte Foster
WR Isaac Fruechte
S Anthony Harris
RB DuJuan Harris
DT Greg Hickman
DE Leon Mackey
LB Michael Mauti
LB Brian Peters
CB Shaun Prater
FB Blake Renaud
CB Josh Thomas
T Tyrus Thompson
C Bobby Vardaro
LB Brandon Watts
WR Ryan Whalen
RB Dominique Williams
OL David Yankey

49ers Put Kendall Hunter On IR, Set Roster

September 5th, 2015 at 5:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Linebacker Ahmad Brooks, facing a sexual battery charge, remains on the 49ers’ roster following the team’s cuts today. As Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group tweets, general manager Trent Baalke issued a statement saying that the club is continuing to let the legal process under the league’s personal conduct policy. According to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link), the NFL has announced it has no basis for placing Brooks on the commissioner’s exempt list for now.

After announcing six cuts yesterday and then acquiring center Nick Easton from the Ravens today, the 49ers required 17 roster moves to get down to 53 players. The most notable among those 17 transactions might have been the decision to place running back Kendall Hunter on injured reserve for the second straight year. Here are the rest of the Niners’ moves, via a press release:

Cut:

WR DiAndre Campbell
CB Marcus Cromartie
G/C Dillon Farrell
RB Kendall Gaskins
TE Xavier Grimble
CB Leon McFadden
LB Nick Moody
DT Kaleb Ramsey
OL Justin Renfrow
DL Marcus Rush
NT Garrison Smith
QB Dylan Thompson
G Andrew Tiller
S Jermaine Whitehead

Placed on injured reserve:

TE Rory Anderson
RB Kendall Hunter

Reserve/suspended:

WR Jerome Simpson

Additionally, the 49ers made a move with a player who had been removed from their active roster already, reaching an injury settlement with linebacker Desmond Bishop, per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter links). Bishop, who had been on San Francisco’s injured reserve list, is now a free agent and is healthy enough to contribute right away if he finds a new team.

Patriots Jettison 11 Players

September 5th, 2015 at 5:38pm CST by Sam Robinson

Reggie Wayne indeed appears among the contingent of cut Patriots, per the team’s official website, but the team’s wide receiver depth chart took another hit, at least from an experience standpoint amid the moves the Super Bowl champions made Saturday.

Brandon LaFell will begin the season on the PUP list, meaning the earliest the veteran can debut Oct. 25 at the earliest. A foot injury kept the starting wide receiver out of training camp, and it likely leaves New England to once again rely on the underwhelming Danny Amendola in the starting lineup.

The Patriots also waived Jonas Gray, he of the four-touchdown performance last season before an alarm clock-related practice absence halted the runner’s momentum.

They cut tight end Asante Cleveland and wideout Jalen Saunders, both of whom they traded for recently, notes Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (on Twitter).

The rest of New England’s cuts are as follows:

Justin Coleman, DB
Xzavier Dickson, LB
Darius Fleming, LB
Brandon King, S
Robert McClain, CB
Zach Moore, DL
Daxton Swanson, DB