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Detroit Lions News & Rumors

Lions Place Alex Carter On IR-DTR

September 6th, 2015 at 4:02pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Lions have placed rookie cornerback Alex Carter on injured reserve with a designation to return, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. Carter suffered an ankle injury during the early portion of training camp.

Detroit traded up to select Carter, a Stanford product, in the third round of the draft earlier this year. The expectation was that he would immediately contribute to the Lions’ secondary, but now he he’ll have to wait a bit longer to make his NFL debut. Carter will be eligible to begin practicing after six weeks, and can return to game action after eight.

To replace Carter on their roster, the Lions have re-signed defensive tackle Jermelle Cudjo. Cudjo was initially cut yesterday, but now he’s back on Detroit’s 53 for the time being.

NFC Notes: Bucs, Byrd, Brooks

September 6th, 2015 at 10:07am CST by Rory Parks

After taking a peek at a few AFC notes this morning, let’s have a look at some NFC links in advance of today’s flurry of waiver claims and practice squad news:

  • The Buccaneers are first in line to claim players waived by the 31 other teams in the league, and Greg Auman of The Tampa Bay Times says one position where the Bucs will likely add a player is defensive end. After placing Larry English on injured reserve and cutting backups Lawrence Sidbury and rookie Ryan Delaire, Tampa Bay currently has only three defensive ends on its roster.
  • We learned yesterday that Saints safety Jairus Byrd had avoided the regular season PUP list, meaning that he is eligible to play immediately when he is medically ready. As Katherine Terrell of The Times-Picayune observes, it is still unclear as to exactly when Byrd will be back, but the fact that he is on the 53-man roster indicates that he could be ready to go soon.
  • Ahmad Brooks will remain on the 49ers‘ 53-man roster as the league continues to monitor his criminal case, per Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle. Head coach Jim Tomsula said he expects Brooks to play next week’s season opener, and the NFL issued a statement stating that it was not appropriate to place Brooks on the Commissioner’s Exempt List at this time.
  • John Keim of ESPN.com takes a closer look at some of the fallout from the Robert Griffin III drama in Washington. Keim notes that not everyone in the organization believes in Kirk Cousins, and Griffin’s biggest fan is team owner Dan Snyder. If Cousins gives Snyder a reason to believe in him, then Griffin may be traded or released. But if Cousins struggles, and there is plenty of reason to believe he will, the possible tension between ownership and the rest of Washington’s brass may be further illuminated.
  • Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com looks at five Washington starting jobs that could change hands this season, including quarterback (obviously), left guard, and strong safety.
  • If he goes unclaimed on waivers, the Eagles will definitely sign RB Raheem Mostert to their practice squad, according to Les Bowen of The Philadelphia Daily News (Twitter link).
  • The Lions, meanwhile, plan to sign Andrew Peacock to their practice squad today, according to a tweet from Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press. Peacock cleared waivers last week.

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

Lions Release Kellen Moore, Joseph Fauria

September 5th, 2015 at 11:53am CST by Ben Levine

The Lions will release quarterback Kellen Moore and tight end Joseph Fauria, reports ESPN.com’s Field Yates (via Twitter).

Moore, 25, re-signed with the Lions for two years this past offseason. The three-year veteran has yet to make an appearance in the NFL. The move will save the Lions close to $490K, but they’ll also be stuck with $340K in dead money. The move leaves the team with Matthew Stafford and Dan Orlovsky as the lone quarterbacks on the roster.

Fauria, undrafted out of UCLA in 2013, has compiled 24 catches for 281 yards and eight touchdowns during his career. Last year, a late-season ankle injury landed the 25-year-old on the injured reserve. The move will save the team $585, and they’ll only have about $4K in dead money.

Lions Waive Three Players

September 1st, 2015 at 1:10pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lions have cut a trio of players to get down to a 75-man roster. First, Detroit dropped wide receiver Andrew Peacock and linebacker Justin Cherocci, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com. Then, to go from 76 to 75, the Lions waived tight end Jacob Maxwell, according to Twentyman (via Twitter).

With Peacock out of the picture, the Lions’ depth chart at wide receiver features Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, Corey Fuller, Lance Moore, Jeremy Ross, T.J. Jones, and Greg Salas at receiver. The Lions will likely retain five of those players on the 53-man roster.

At linebacker, DeAndre Levy, Stephen Tulloch, Tahir Whitehead, Josh Bynes, Kyle Van Noy, Travis Lewis, Brandon Copeland, and Julian Stanford remain on the 75-man roster. The team kept six linebackers heading into the season last year, so it stands to reason that one or two of those players could get dropped in the coming days.

At tight end, the Lions have Tim Wright, Joseph Fauria, and Casey Pierce behind Eric Ebron and Brandon Pettigrew.

Lions Release Ryan Broyles, 8 Others

August 31st, 2015 at 4:12pm CST by Zachary Links

The Lions have cut ten players loose, including wide receiver Ryan Broyles, as Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com writes. The full list is below:

  • Deon Butler, TE
  • Ryan Broyles, WR
  • Garret Gilbert, QB
  • Vernon Johnson, WR
  • Desmond Martin, RB
  • Roy Philon, DT
  • Jocquel Skinner, CB
  • R.J. Stanford, CB
  • Erik Williams, DE

In addition to those moves, cornerback Chris Owens has been placed on IR with an undisclosed injury. Broyles, 27, has spend the last three years with the Lions and appared in 21 total games. In his rookie season, the second round selection hauled in 22 catches for 310 yards and 2 touchdowns, leading many to wonder if he could be on his way to becoming a leading wide receiver. Since then, however, he has notched just 10 total catches.

Lions To Acquire Tim Wright, Cut Ryan Broyles

August 31st, 2015 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

9:06am: The Lions are sending kicker Kyle Brindza to Tampa Bay in the deal for Wright, tweets Field Yates of ESPN.com.

8:18am: For the second consecutive August, the Buccaneers have decided to trade tight end Tim Wright, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who tweets that Tampa Bay is sending Wright to the Lions. A year ago, the Bucs sent Wright to New England in a swap for Logan Mankins.

Playing behind Rob Gronkowski on the Patriots’ depth chart in 2014, Wright grabbed 26 balls for 259 yards and six touchdowns, receiving far fewer targets than he did in his 2013 rookie campaign with Tampa Bay. In ’13, Wright recorded 54 receptions on 76 targets.

New England moved on from Wright in June, and when the young tight end hit waivers, 10 teams – including the Lions – placed waiver claims on him, with the Bucs getting him back. In Detroit, Wright will join a group of tight ends that includes Brandon Pettigrew, Eric Ebron, and Joseph Fauria.

Meanwhile, another Lions pass-catcher, former second-round pick Ryan Broyles, will be waived after requesting his release from the team, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. According to Birkett, Broyles’ decision to ask to be let go was solidified after he played just 16 snaps during Detroit’s Friday win over Jacksonville, which was the latest sign that he likely wouldn’t make the team’s 53-man roster.

Since joining the Lions in 2012, Broyles has totaled just 420 yards and two touchdowns on 32 catches, with the majority of those catches and yards coming in his rookie year. He’ll have to pass through waivers unclaimed to become an unrestricted free agent.

North Notes: A.J. Green, K. Moore, Broyles

August 30th, 2015 at 12:08pm CST by Rory Parks

Four elite wide receivers–Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas, Julio Jones, and A.J. Green–entered this offseason hoping to sign lucrative extensions with their respective clubs. After Jones inked a five-year extension with Atlanta yesterday, Green is the only member of that group still looking for a long-term deal that will guarantee him $40-50MM and allow him to avoid the possibility of the franchise tag next year. Green didn’t have much to say on how the Jones deal will impact him personally, but per Paul Dehner, Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Green just got one step closer to his own big payday from the Bengals.

“We will see,” Green said. “If it happens, it happens. If it don’t I’ll go out there and play. We’ll see. All the receivers are getting bank so we will see if I get there.”

Now for some more links from the league’s north divisions:

  • In a pair of tweets, Dehner openly wonders how the Bengals will resolve their defensive line situation. At the moment, Cincinnati has 14 defensive linemen on the roster, and Dehner wonders if the team will keep as many as 10–which would be an extraordinarily high number–and if someone like Margus Hunt could get cut. The Bengals could also seek to trade some of their D-line depth.
  • The Ravens entered training camp looking for someone to step up and seize the return specialist job after the team parted ways with Jacoby Jones this offseason. Asa Jackson has gotten the most opportunities to do so, but as Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun writes, Jackson had an uneven game against Washington last night, returning a kickoff 103 yards to the Washington 2-yard line but also fumbling away a punt he had no business fielding. Head coach John Harbaugh said he still can’t handicap the return man competition.
  • With injuries to promising young players Breshad Perriman and Michael Campanaro keeping them out of action, Bo Smolka of CSNBaltimore.com writes that the Ravens are still looking for someone to grab the No. 2 receiver spot behind Steve Smith, Sr. Players like Kamar Aiken and Marlon Brown have not been especially impressive in the preseason, which probably explains why the team was linked to veteran wideouts last week.
  • Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune writes that last night’s preseason debacle against Cleveland proves just how thin the Bears‘ roster really is. He notes that the team will be flush with salary cap room after the 2015 season but will have too many holes to fill to rely on free agency. Biggs says the Bears’ only option is to draft their way out of their current predicament, and that it will take two or three strong draft classes to do so.
  • When the Lions signed quarterback Kellen Moore to a two-year extension this offseason, they hoped he would take another step forward in his development, challenging for and potentially winning the backup quarterback job. Instead, as Justin Rogers of MLive.com writes, Moore has been outplayed by veteran Dan Orlovsky and is now in danger of being cut.
  • Kyle Meinke of MLive.com believes Ryan Broyles is one of the tough cuts the Lions will be forced to make this week.

 

Extra Points: Cobb, Pouncey, Okung

August 29th, 2015 at 9:27pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

A week after losing Pro Bowl receiver Jordy Nelson to a season-ending ACL injury, the Packers are hoping fellow Pro Bowl wideout Randall Cobb doesn’t join him on the shelf. Cobb suffered a right shoulder injury during the Packers’ game Saturday against Philadelphia. The severity of the ailment is currently unknown, but one injury that has been ruled out is a broken collarbone, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeted. A serious injury to Cobb would be a devastating blow to the Packers, given that their receiving corps already lost Nelson. He and Cobb combined for a whopping 189 catches (25 of which were touchdowns) and nearly 3,000 yards last year.

More from around the NFL:

  • Dolphins center Mike Pouncey hurt his left knee during Saturday’s game against Atlanta and will have to undergo an MRI on Sunday. Pouncey, who is wearing a brace, vows not to miss any regular-season time, Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports (Twitter link). Head coach Joe Philbin also expressed optimism regarding Pouncey’s injury. “We think he’ll be OK,” he said, per Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).
  • Seahawks left tackle Russell Okung will probably use the five-year, $66MM extension Washington signed Trent Williams to earlier today as a benchmark for his next deal, according to CBS Sports’ Joel Corry (via Twitter). Okung, who’s in a contract year, was the sixth overall selection in the 2010 draft, going two picks after Williams. Okung has since made 59 starts and one Pro Bowl, while Williams has made 70 and three, respectively.
  • Don’t count on a reunion between the Giants and free agent safety Stevie Brown, writes Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. The Giants are scheduled to work out Brown, but he has interest from “a number of teams,” according to his agent. Brown spent 2012-14 with the Giants before a brief stint in Houston this year.
  • The Colts scratched running back Vick Ballard from Saturday’s game in St. Louis. That doesn’t bode well for his chances of making the roster, according to Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. Ballard has battled serious injuries over the past couple years and has played in just one game since 2012 as a result.
  • Lions running back Joique Bell, who underwent knee surgery in January, is unsure if he’ll play Week 1. “I’m not going to say I’m ready to go out there and take every play and run every down, right now, but you never know how I’ll feel in two weeks,” Bell said, according to Justin Rogers of MLive.com. The fourth-year man is coming off his most productive season (1,182 total yards, eight touchdowns).
  • Patriots fullback James Develin suffered a broken tibia in Friday’s loss to Carolina, and ESPN’s Mike Reiss tweeted that the hope is recovery from surgery will take six to eight weeks. However, David Chao – the former team doctor for the Chargers – responded that it could actually take Develin six to eight months to return (Twitter link).

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/26/15

August 26th, 2015 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are today’s minor signings, cuts, and other transactions from around the NFL:

  • The Patriots cut cornerback Jimmy Jean, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. The rookie was signed by the Pats as a rookie free agent out of Alabama-Birmingham on May 8, 2015. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder, played both safety and cornerback over two seasons at University of Alabama- Birmingham.
  • The Buccaneers have signed punter Jacob Schum, waiving safety Derrick Wells in the corresponding roster move, the team announced today (via Twitter). Schum just became a free agent last week after being cut by the Jets.
  • The Lions have signed former Arena League center Joe Madsen, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com (Twitter link). Madsen, who finished last season on Green Bay’s practice squad, has spent time with the Packers and Browns this year.
  • The Seahawks have cut quarterback Jake Waters, leaving just three quarterbacks on their roster, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. The move seems to suggest that the club isn’t too worried about Tarvaris Jackson‘s health. To fill Waters’ roster spot, the Seahawks signed wide receiver Deontay Greenberry.
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