2015 September - Pro Football Rumors

Texans Release Louis Nix

September 4th, 2015 at 12:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Louis Nix has been released by the Texans, sources tell Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). It’s a disappointing outcome for Nix, who was a third-round draft pick just one year ago. The Texans also cut defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick and return specialist Damaris Johnson, Wilson tweets.

The Notre Dame product, who goes by the nickname of “Irish Chocolate,” was unable to take the field in 2014 after undergoing knee surgeries No. 2 and 3 of his career in the offseason. The nose tackle put himself on the map as a junior in 2012 and had some NFL draft hype around him, but opted to return for his senior season. Unfortunately, his senior season was cut short in November, leading to his fall into the third round in the 2014 draft.

Eagles Shopping Najee Goode

September 4th, 2015 at 11:54am CST by Zachary Links

The Eagles are shopping linebacker Najee Goode, according to league sources who spoke with Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (on Twitter). Goode has been with the Eagles for the past two seasons but it sounds like he is on the fringe as the team tries to get down to a 53-man roster.

The 25-year-old unfortunately had his season cut short in 2014 when he suffered a pectoral injury in September. In the year prior, Goode appeared in 14 games, mainly as a special teams player. In total, he tallied 20 tackles, one sack, three pass deflections, and one fumble recovery. A product of West Virginia, he was drafted by the Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2012 draft.

49ers Release Philip Wheeler

September 4th, 2015 at 11:47am CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers have released linebacker Philip Wheeler, a source tells Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Wheeler was dealing with a hamstring issue for most of camp, but he’s finally healthy and notched two sacks on Thursday night, as Getlin notes (link). Wheeler had a week 1 roster bonus for $130K with the 49ers, as Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap tweets.

As a veteran with experience, Wheeler could be picked up rather quickly by another team in need of a linebacker. The 30-year-old signed on with San Francisco in late April. Wheeler has spent time with the Colts, Raiders, and Dolphins over the course of his seven-year career and in total, he has played in 108 games (60 starts). For his career, he has registered 455 tackles, 5.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. In 2013 with the Dolphins, he led the team with a career-high 118 tackles. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) rated Wheeler as the 18th best outside linebacker in a 3-4 set last season, giving him an overall grade of 2.6.

Ravens Waive Five Players

September 4th, 2015 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

The Ravens are among the first teams to officially announce a handful of roster moves as they make their way down to 53 players from 75. According to the club (via Twitter), the following players have been waived:

ILB Andrew Bose
WR Daniel Brown
T Blaine Clausell
WR Tom Nelson
CB Quinton Pointer

Baltimore still has a long way to go to get its roster down to 53 players. With 70 players currently in the mix, another 17 roster moves will be required by tomorrow’s deadline.

Giants Acquire Brad Wing From Steelers

September 4th, 2015 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

11:32am: The Steelers will get a conditional seventh-round pick for 2016 in exchange for Wing, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

10:41am: Shortly after having released veteran punter Steve Weatherford, the Giants have identified his apparent replacement. According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), the team has worked out a trade with the Steelers, acquiring punter Brad Wing in exchange for a late-round draft pick.

Wing, 24, punted 61 times for the Steelers in his rookie season in 2014, recording 43.7 yards per punt and a net average of 38.6 yards. Pro Football Focus wasn’t overly high on the LSU product’s performance, ranking him 28th out of the league’s 32 regular punters, with a -7.6 grade (subscription required).

Because he was only an exclusive rights free agent in the offseason, Wing is on a minimum salary deal, which works out to $510K for a player with his experience. His contract expires at the end of the 2015 season, but he won’t be able to hit the open market if the Giants want to keep him, since he’s set to be an ERFA again.

Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News first reported that the Giants were discussing a Wing deal with Pittsburgh.

Bills To Cut IK Enemkpali

September 4th, 2015 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

Less than a month after claiming him off waivers from the Jets, the Bills have waived defensive end IK Enemkpali, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Enemkpali, of course, was initially cut by the Jets following an altercation with Geno Smith.

Enemkpali only saw the field sparingly in his rookie season, playing 40 defensive snaps and contributing a little on special teams as well. The young pass rusher may eventually face NFL discipline for punching Smith, as the league confirmed it’s reviewing the August locker-room incident that left the quarterback with a broken jaw.

Rex Ryan, heading into his first season as the head coach in Buffalo, held the same position in New York a year ago when the Jets used a sixth-round pick to draft Enemkpali out of Louisiana Tech. Ryan cited Enemkapli’s character and took responsibility for the roster move when he and the Bills claimed the 24-year-old off waivers, but it doesn’t appear they saw enough from him over the last few weeks to keep him on the roster.

Enemkpali will have to pass through waivers again before becoming a free agent.

Giants Cut Steve Weatherford

September 4th, 2015 at 10:35am CST by Luke Adams

10:35am: According to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (via Twitter), the Giants are discussing acquiring punter Brad Wing in a deal with the Steelers, though nothing is finalized yet.

10:20am: The Giants appear to be on the lookout for a new punter, as Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports reports (via Twitter) that the club has parted ways with veteran Steve Weatherford. New York also cut Robert Malone earlier this week, so the latest move leaves the team without a punter on its roster.

Weatherford, who turns 33 in December, spent the first five years of his NFL career with a handful of different teams before finding a more permanent home with the Giants in 2011. The Illinois product has been the team’s punter for each of the last four seasons, ranking 25th out of the league’s 32 qualified players at the position in 2015, per Pro Football Focus’ data (subscription required).

Earlier in the week, head coach Tom Coughlin strongly hinted that outside help would likely be brought in to challenge Weatherford for the Giants’ punting job this year.

“Well, there’s a game to go, and it’s going to be a competitive thing,” Coughlin said. “Not necessarily with the guys that are here. That goes for any position. Any position. People have to understand that. You’re not competing just against the guys here, you’re competing against the waiver wire.”

Buccaneers To Release Connor Barth

September 4th, 2015 at 10:29am CST by Luke Adams

Connor Barth‘s latest stint with the Buccaneers only lasted a little over a week, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who reports (via Twitter) that the veteran kicker is being released by the club.

Barth landed with the Buccaneers quickly last Wednesday after being released by the Broncos, and figures to be atop the list of targets for the next NFL team in need of kicking help. The 29-year-old signed with Denver last November to replace Brandon McManus, who was struggling with his accuracy. However, McManus beat Barth out for the kicking job in Denver this season, even though Barth finished the 2014 campaign by nailing 15 of 16 field goals for Denver.

According to Rapoport, Barth’s release signals that Kyle Brindza will open the regular season as the Bucs’ kicker. However, Patrick Murray remains on the team’s roster as well, so it’s not clear if that’s set in stone quite yet. We should get some more clarity when Tampa Bay officially announces its cuts, but Brindza looks like the choice, given Murray’s preseason struggles.

Barth is the second notable Buccaneer whose release has been confirmed today — the club is also parting with former second-round pick Da’Quan Bowers.

49ers Release Darnell Dockett

September 4th, 2015 at 10:06am CST by Luke Adams

After an offseason that saw many notable defensive players depart from San Francisco via free agency, retirement, or as a result of legal issues, another veteran defender is no longer a Niner. This time, however, it appears to have been the team’s decision. According to Pro Football Talk (via Twitter), the 49ers have released defensive lineman Darnell Dockett.

Dockett, 34, was sidelined for the entire 2014 campaign due to an ACL tear. In 2013, the former third-round pick started all 16 games for the Cards, logging 46 tackles and 4.5 sacks. However, Dockett’s cap number for 2015 was nearly $10MM, which forced the Cards to cut him earlier this year, at which point their NFC West rivals in San Francisco snatched up the three-time Pro Bowler.

In addition to recovering from that ACL tear, Dockett also battled a rib contusion during the preseason, and appears to have become expendable in San Francisco, where the Niners have Tank Carradine, Tony Jerod-Eddie and first-round draft pick Arik Armstead competing for playing time behind the starters.

A $2MM chunk of Dockett’s salary for 2015 was guaranteed, and he also earned a $500K workout bonus, to the 49ers will be on the hook for $2.5MM in dead money. However, by releasing him now, the team avoids paying him a $250K roster bonus, which he would have earned had he been on the Niners’ Week 1 roster.

With Dockett set to hit the open market again, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on the Cardinals to see if his old team is interested in a reunion.

Buccaneers To Cut Da’Quan Bowers

September 4th, 2015 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Buccaneers re-signed defensive lineman Da’Quan Bowers in July after letting him reach the free agent market earlier in the offseason, but it doesn’t appear he’ll have a spot on the team’s regular season roster. According to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter link), the Bucs will cut Bowers today.

The 51st overall pick in the 2011 draft, Bowers played 50 games for the Buccaneers from 2011 to 2014, compiling just 66 total tackles and seven total sacks. The 25-year-old, a Clemson product, was plagued by injuries and never developed into the sort of productive defensive player the Bucs were hoping for, starting just 10 of those 50 games with the club.

As Garafolo notes, Bowers had a sack and five tackles in Tampa Bay’s final preseason game, but it wasn’t enough to save his job. The Bucs won’t be on the hook for any dead money for Bowers, since he was signed to a minimum salary contract with no guarantees.