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Sunday NFL Transactions: NFC South

September 2nd, 2018 at 6:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four NFC South teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Falcons, Panthers, Saints, and Buccaneers are noted below.

Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s NFC South transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Atlanta Falcons

Practice squad:

Carolina Panthers

Placed on injured reserve:

Signed:

Practice squad:

New Orleans Saints

Signed to practice squad:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Saints Sign RB Mike Gillislee

September 2nd, 2018 at 5:09pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Saints are adding a running back, signing veteran Mike Gillislee according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Rapsheet reports that it’s a one-year deal for Gillislee. The Saints were looking for running back help with Mark Ingram suspended for the first four games of the season. Saints coach Sean Payton has emphasized over and over that the team wants to avoid putting too much wear on Alvin Kamara, so Gillislee could play a significant role on early downs.

Gillislee was cut by the Patriots as they trimmed their roster to 53 yesterday. New England was very high on Gillislee when they signed him away from the Bills as a restricted free agent before the 2017 season. He scored three touchdowns in week one of last year, but his role gradually decreased as the season went on and he was a healthy scratch down the stretch.

The writing was on the wall for Gillislee when the Patriots signed Jeremy Hill in free agency and drafted Sony Michel in the first round of this year’s draft. He now finds a new home in New Orleans after the Saints surprisingly cut preseason star Jonathan Williams yesterday. They wasted no time bringing in Gillislee, and he should stick with the team the entire season.

Mike Gillislee To Visit Saints

September 2nd, 2018 at 8:17am CST by Rory Parks

Running back Mike Gillislee, whom the Patriots released yesterday, is visiting with the Saints this morning, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). As Herbie Teope of NFL.com tweets, New Orleans would be a logical fit for Gillislee, as the club currently has just two running backs on the active roster after yesterday’s cuts (Alvin Kamara and rookie Boston Scott).

Last offseason, Gillislee signed with New England as a restricted free agent after an excellent 2016 campaign in Buffalo. But despite a three-touchdown debut for the Pats in the 2017 season opener, he could not carve out much of a role in Foxborough, and his release yesterday was anything but surprising. He finished his New England tenure with 383 rushing yards (3.7 per carry) and five touchdowns.

But the 27-year-old has plenty of ability, and he and Kamara could form a nice 1-2 punch in the Big Easy. When Mark Ingram returns from suspension, that trio would represent one of the best RB corps in the league, especially as they have complementary skill-sets.

Gillislee, a Florida product, was selected by the Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2013 draft. He has spent his entire career in the AFC East, having played two seasons in Miami, two in Buffalo, and one in New England.

Saints Announce Roster Moves

September 1st, 2018 at 5:13pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Saints have made the following transactions as they move their roster to 53 players:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Released:

Placed on injured reserve:

Placed on suspended list:

Browns Make Minor Trade With Saints

September 1st, 2018 at 3:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The Browns have reached the 53-man roster maximum by making a whole lot of cuts and acquiring one player just before the bell.

On Saturday, the Browns announced that they acquired defensive lineman Devaroe Lawrence from the Saints in exchange for a 2019 seventh-round pick. Lawrence, 26 in October, overcame legal trouble as a youngster to achieve his dream of making it to the NFL. Injuries have held him back in the pros, but the Saints stuck by him even after ACL surgery in December of 2016.

“We felt he was athletic, explosive and we felt like he could recover,” said Saints coach Sean Payton (via Luke Johnson of The Times-Picayune). “In other words, he was battling an injury and we saw traits that are hard to find sometimes for defensive tackles, and it’s hard to find that position, especially after the draft.”

So, with Lawrence in the fold, the Browns waived the following 19 players to get down to the limit:

Saints To Place Shane Vereen On IR

August 31st, 2018 at 3:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Both of the veteran running backs the Saints added to potentially fill the void created by Mark Ingram‘s four-game suspension will not factor into the equation while he’s out.

The Saints will place Shane Vereen on IR, Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets. Vereen and Terrance West signed with New Orleans earlier this offseason but will see the team go with younger backs while Ingram’s sidelined.

It’s unclear what Vereen’s injury is, but he won’t be playing for the Saints this season. An injury settlement is possible, but did not receive much interest on the market this year after his Giants contract expired. The Saints were the only team to whom the former Patriots and Giants passing-down back was connected this year.

Vereen, 29, totaled a career-best 1,076 yards from scrimmage for the 2015 Giants but did not factor in nearly as often to Big Blue’s offense in his subsequent two seasons in New York. Behind Alvin Kamara, the Saints have Trey Edmunds, former Bills draft choice Jonathan Williams and rookie sixth-rounder Boston Scott as of Friday afternoon.

Saints Cut WR Michael Floyd, Others

August 31st, 2018 at 3:45pm CST by Sam Robinson

Michael Floyd and Brandon Tate both signed with the Saints late in the offseason. Each received notice of a Friday release.

The Saints cut Floyd, along with offensive linemen Don Barclay and Andrew Tiller and former second-round linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha (all Twitter links via Nick Underhill of The Advocate). They are also parting ways with edge defender Jayrone Elliott, per Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com (on Twitter).

Floyd has not been able to recapture his Cardinals form. After three straight 800-plus-yard receiving seasons, he’s combined for barely 100 away from Arizona. He caught 10 passes for 78 yards with the 2017 Vikings.

Tiller started 14 games for the 49ers from 2016-17, and Barclay joined him in signing with the Saints this offseason. Both players came into the league in 2012, Barclay being a former Packers starter.

The longest-tenured Saints linebacker going into Friday, Kikaha came off the 2015 draft board at No. 44 but saw the team revamp its linebacker room via free agency over the past few years. They signed Demario Davis this offseason. The Saints, who deployed Kikaha as an 11-game starter in 2015, have now parted ways with two of their top three 2015 picks — Stephone Anthony and Kikaha. New Orleans picked up 2015 first-rounder Andrus Peat‘s fifth-year option earlier this year.

 

Saints To Release WR Brandon Tate

August 31st, 2018 at 3:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Brandon Tate‘s bid for a 10th NFL season may have to commence elsewhere after the Saints made the decision to release him Friday, Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com tweets.

The former Patriots third-round pick established a niche for himself as a backup and special-teamer with the Bengals and Bills over the past several seasons, but the Saints did not view the 30-year-old performer as vital enough to retain — at least not at the moment.

Tate signed with the Saints late in the offseason, joining Michael Floyd in that regard. The Saints drafted Tre’Quan Smith in the third round and added Cameron Meredith and Tanner McEvoy, making room in their receiver room scarce. They cut ties with Brandon Coleman earlier this offseason as well.

Serving primarily as a return specialist, Tate’s logged 126 NFL games. He served as Buffalo’s primary kick- and punt-return specialist for the past two seasons.

Saints GM Discusses Potential Bridgewater Extension

August 30th, 2018 at 8:00pm CST by Ben Levine

When Teddy Bridgewater was traded to the Saints yesterday, some pundits wondered whether the 26-year-old would take over as the starter once Drew Brees decided to call it a career. However, general manager Mickey Loomis cautioned that the team isn’t in any hurry to extend the quarterback, who is currently playing on a one-year deal.

“Well, I think it’s one step at a time,” Loomis said (via Josh Katzenstein of The Times-Picayune on Twitter). “The first step is getting him here and getting to know him as a player and as a person and vice versa.”

The general manager also said it was “premature” to assume Bridgewater would be the heir apparent to Brees.

Of course, Loomis presumably doesn’t want to count his chickens before they hatch, but we can probably assume that the Saints traded for Bridgewater thinking he’d one day take over the starting gig. After all, New Orleans sent the Jets a third-rounder, which seems to be the going rate for a lower-end starting quarterback (the Browns sent the Bills a third for Tyrod Taylor). While the Saints also received a sixth-rounder in the trade, they presumably wouldn’t have given up valuable draft capital if they didn’t envision a future with Bridgewater.

Secondly, the team’s other backup quarterbacks haven’t shown a whole lot of promise during their NFL careers. With Drew Brees approaching his 40th birthday, the organization probably didn’t feel good about a potential future with Tom Savage, J.T. Barrett, or Taysom Hill under center.

At the very least, Bridgewater has already shown that he can be a competent NFL quarterback, and he seems to be recovered from a knee injury that forced him to miss the 2016 season and most of the 2017 campaign. In three preseason games, Bridgewater has completed 73.7-percent of his passes for 316 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/29/18

August 29th, 2018 at 3:08pm CST by Zachary Links

We don’t dance now, we make minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

New Orleans Saints

San Francisco 49ers

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